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INTRODUCTION 


THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART 

(By  CHR.  UFER) 

AUTHORIZED   TRANSLATION  FROM   THE   FIFTH  GERMAN 

EDITION,    UNDER   THE  AUSPICES  OF  THE 

HERBART   CLUB 

By  J.    C.   ZINSER,   M.S. 


EDITED  BY 

CHAELES   DE   GARMO,   Ph.D. 

PBESISBNX  OF  SWARTHMORE   COLLEGE,   SWABTHMORE,   PA. 


BOSTON,   U.S.A. 

D.   C.   HEATH  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS 

1896 


CoPTRionT,  1894, 
By  CHARLES   DeGARMO 


Typography  by  J.  S.  Gushing  &  Co.,  Boston. 

PRESSWORK   BY    RoCKWELL   &   ChURCHILL,    BoSTON. 


•       LB 
U 

*      TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Editor's  Preface v 

Introduction ix 


Part  I. 


Psychological  Basis. 


1.  Production  and  Apperception  of  Ideas 1 

2.  Memory 14 

3.  Desire  and  Will 26 


Part  II. 

Ethical  Basis.     The  Five  Ethical  Ideas. 

1.  Idea  of  Inner  Freedom 42 

2.  Idea  of  Efficiency,  or  Perfection  of  Will 44 

3.  Idea  of  Good  Will 46 

4.  Idea  of  Justice 48 

5.  Idea  of  Equity 49 


IV  .  CONTENTS. 

Part  III. 
Pedagogical  Application. 

PAGE 

1.  Development  of  Interest 54 

2.  Choice  of  Studies 64  ^ " 

3.  Tlie  Culture  Epochs  and  Concentration 67 

4.  Methods  of  Teaching  —  tlie  Formal  Steps 81 

6.   Moral  Training 90 

Part  IV. 

Special  Methods.     Examples  op  Concentration. 

^»    A.   Voyages  of  Discovery 105 

1.  Character-forming  Material 105 

2.  German 100 

3.  Geography 108 

4.  Nature  Studies 110 

5.  Arithmetic 112 

6.  Geometry 113 

7.  Drawing 114 

V 

B.  The  Age  of  the  Reformation 114 

1.  Culture  Material 114 

2.  Language 115    * 

3.  Geography 116     ,•♦ 

4.  Nature  Study 118 

5.  Singing 119 

6.  Arithmetic 120 

7.  Drawing 121 

C.  Illustrative  Lesson  on  the  Number  3  (by  Dr.  Karl 

Just,  Altenburg) 121 


INTRODUCTION. 


3«Xo*- 


Among  all  of  nature's  beings  man  alone  is  capable  of 
education.  Animals  cannot  in  any  true  sense  be  educated ; 
they  can  only  be  trained.  Education  is  an  influence  upon 
man.  When  a  person  is  spoken  of  as  well-educated,  we  do 
not  think  of  bodily  qualities.  The  educating  influence  has 
reference  to  the  soul,  and  concerns  itself  with  the  body  only 
in  so  far  as  the  care  of  the  latter  is  immediately  serviceable 
to  the  former.  Education  is  an  influence  upon  the  soul  of 
the  pupil.  It  demands  much  time,  for  by  it  many  and  vari- 
ous things  are  to  be  done.  He  who  would  enter  upon  a 
great  and  complex  undertaking,  first  makes  a  plan  that  he 
means  to  follow.  So,  too,  is  it  in  education — a  great  whole 
of  ceaseless  labor,  which  from  one  end  to  the  other  is  to  be 
carefully  attended  to,  and  in  which  it  is  not  sufficient 
merely  to  have  avoided  some  blunders.  It  consists  in  an 
intentional  systematic  influence  upon  the  soul  of  the  pupil. 
In  order  to  be  able  to  influence  the  soul  successfully,  one 
must  be  acquainted  with  it.  The  educator,  in  order  to  get 
his  bearings,  requires  the  aid  of  psychology ;  it  is  a  science 
auxiliary  to  pedagogy.  Herbart  says  of  it :  Psychology  is 
the  first  auxiliary  science  of  use  to  the  educator;  \sq  must 
possess  it  before  we  can  say  of  a  single  recitation  what  has 
been  rightly  done,  what  has  gone  amiss. 

Whoever  undertakes  a  work,  h:is  a  definite  aim  that  he 
strives  to  reach.     The  educator  also  must  set  before  himself 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

such  an  aim  and  must  never  lose  sight  of  it.  The  teacher 
■wishes  to  lead  his  pupil  to  moral  conduct  and  to  secure  for 
him  the  ability,  by-and-by,  to  persevere  in  the  course  en- 
tered upon  and  independently  to  pursue  it  further.  To  a 
clear  recognition  of  the  aim  in  general,  as  well  as  in  its 
several  parts,  the  science  of  good  and  evil,  called  ethics,  or 
practical  philosophy,  helps  us.  This  must  be  designated 
the  second  science  auxiliary  to  pedagogy.  Herbart  was  the 
first  to  found  pedagogy  upon  psychology  and  ethics.  The 
latter  shows  the  aim  of  culture,  the  former  the  means  and 
hindrances.  From  a  Christian  standpoint  ethics  connects 
itself  with  the  science  of  religion;  hence  the  latter  has  been 
rightly  called  by  Ziller  the  third  auxiliary  science  of  peda- 
gogy. 

Queries. 

1.  Is  it  possible  to  demonstrate,  on  the  basis  of  mental  phenomena, 
that  there  is  an  essential  difference  between  the  human  soul  and  that 
of  the  animal  ? 

2.  Is  the  animal  conditioned  more  favorably  or  more  unfavorably 
than  man,  so  far  as  the  acquisition  of  ideas  is  concerned  ? 

3.  Is  not  the  psychology  of  the  present  too  uncertain  in  its  results, 
to  offer  itself  to  pedagogy  as  an  auxiliaiy  science  ? 

4.  Is  the  aim  of  education  simple  or  complex  ?  On  what  grounds 
is  the  science  of  religion  necessary  for  teacher  and  pupil  ? 


PART   I. 
PSYCHOLOGICAL  BASIS. 

We  have  defined  education  as  an  influence  upon  the  soul 
of  man.  But  then,  is  there  a  soul  ?  Or  is  materialism  right 
when  it  declares  that  everything  which  we  call  "psychical" 
is  nothing  but  a  condition  of  the  corporeal  ?  This  question 
cannot  be  answered  exhaustively  and  at  the  same  time 
briefly ;  it  is,  however,  possible  to  indicate  here  why  the 
existence  of  a  separate  soul-essence  must  be  assumed. 

Before  me  lies  a  piece  of  sugar.  The  rays  of  light 
reflected  from  it  penetrate  the  different  parts  of  the  eye 
and  reach  at  last  the  retina.  Thus  far  the  process  has 
been  a  physical  (optical)  one ;  and  now  begins  the  physio- 
logical part.  The  retina  contains  the  extremities  of  the 
optic  nerve, — countless  microscopic  corpuscles,  —  which  on 
account  of  their  form  are  called  rods  and  cones. ^  From 
these  the  sensation  caused  by  ether  vibrations  passes  over 
to  the  optic  nerve  and  by  means  of  this  reaches  the  brain. 
The  vibration  of  a  certain  brain  fiber  is,  according  to  the 
doctrine  of  materialism,  to  be  regarded  as  synonymous  with 
the  consciousness  of  the  sensation. 

1  The  number  of  optic  nerve-fibers  in  the  retin<a  is  estimated  to  be 
about  eight  hundred  thousand,  and  for  each  fiber  there  are  about  seven 
cones,  one  hundred  rods,  and  seven  pigment  cells.  The  points  of  the 
rods  and  cones  are  directed  to  the  choroid,  or  away  from  the  entering 
light,  and  dip  into  the  pigmentary  layer.  They,  with  the  pigmentary 
layer,  are  the  elements  mediating  the  change  of  ethereal  vibrations 
into  nerve-force ;  out  of  these  nerve-vibrations  the  brain  fashions  the 

1 


2  THE  PEDAGOGY   OF    HERB ART. 

If  I  lay  this  piece  of  sugar  on  my  tougue,  the  gustatory 
nerves  are  excited ;  they  conduct  the  impression  to  the 
brain,  and  there  also  set  in  vibration  certain  brain  fibers, 
but  not  the  same  ones  that  were  excited  by  the  optic  nerve. 

AYhen  we  think  of  a  piece  of  sugar,  we  remember  that  it 
is  white  and  sweet  and  heavy.  From  this  we  see,  that  tlie 
impressions  have  not  merely  set  in  motion  different  brain 
fibers,  but  that  in  addition  to  this  a  union  has  taken  place. 
This  is  conceivable  only  on  the  supposition  of  a  simple  es- 
sence, different  from  the  body,  which  we  call  Soul.  To  the 
physical  and  physiological  processes  is  added  also  the  psy- 
chological. Materialism,  which  denies  the  existence  of  a 
distinct  soul-being,  is  unable  to  explain  the  above-mentioned 
union  of  impressions. 

Though  we  must  distinguish,  on  the  one  hand,  between 
body  and  soul,  it  must,  on  the  other  hand,  not  be  overlooked, 
that  between  thein  a  very  intimate  interaction  takes  place. 
Not  to  detain  with  details,  we  will  only  mention  that  a 
diseased  condition  of  the  body  reacts  unfavorably  upon  the 
soul,  and  vice  versa.  Just  so  does  bodily  vigor  act  reviv- 
ingly  upon  the  soul  and  mental  freshness  acts  revivingly 
and  stimulatingly  upon  the  body. 

Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  exclusively  to  the  consid- 
eration of  the  psychic  life. 

When  we  compare  an  adult  with  a  three-year-old  child, 
we  recognize  that  the  former  has  a  much  richer  soul-content 
than  the  latter,  and  the  three-year-old  child  has  a  richer 
soul-content  than  a  one-year-old.  We  may  then  conjecture 
that  the  new-born  child  has  no  (appreciable)  soul-content 
at  all.  ^     According  to  the  opinion  of  Herbart,  which  in  part 

sensations  of  light,  form  and  color. — Dr.  Brubaker,  "Physiology," 
p.  158.  — Translator. 

1  Everything  which  really  is  exists  either  in  connection  with  some 
other  thing,  or  it  exists  in  itself.     Color,  weight,  odor,  have  existence 


PSYCHOLOGICAL   BASIS.  3 

was  based  on  immediate  experience,  but  in  part  upon  the 
very  difficult  science  of  metaphysics,  the  soul  has  originally 
no  content  whatever.  The  production  of  a  content  begins 
as  soon  as  the  soul  enters  into  union  with  the  body. 

As  the  soul  ^67-  se  (in  its  essential  quality)^  has  no  con- 
tent, there  can  of  course  be  no  mention  of  faculties  of  the 
soul  per  se.  All  human  souls  are  in  their  quality  alike. 
Only  it  must  be  kept  constantly  in  mind,  that  there  is  as 
yet  no  thought  of  any  connection  of  soul  and  body  when 
Herbart  and  his  school  speak  of  an  absence  of  faculties  in 
the  soul.  The  teacher  is  concerned  only  with  a  union  of 
body  and  soul,  and  there  the  special  faculties  and  capaci- 
ties are  of  course  present. 

We  speak  first  of  an  inherent  capacity.  This  has  its  basis 
in  the  constitution  of  the  body.  Just  as  there  are  no  two 
human  bodies  that  are  in  all  respects  exactly  alike,  so  it  is 
certain  that  the  mental  life  of  each  person  is  sui  generis, 

only  in  some  other,  self-existing  object,  to  tlie  constitution  of  which 
they  belong.  On  the  other  hand,  those  materials  with  which  color,  etc., 
are  connected,  exist  per  se.  The  latter  are  called  substances  (essences, 
realities),  the  former,  adherencies  (accidents).  The  connection  be- 
tween the  substance  and  its  accidents,  which  in  popular  language  is 
expressed  by  the  auxiliary  verb  "  have,"  is  called  inherence.  The  soul 
is  a  substance,  its  content  an  adherence. 

1  The  reader  will  bear  in  mind  that  this  is  a  mooted  question.  The 
Duke  of  Argyll,  after  citing  some  curious  instances  of  instinct  and 
mimicry,  continues  ("Unity  of  Nature,"  Alden,  1884,  p.  54)  :  "In  the 
face  of  them  it  is  now  no  longer  denied  that  in  all  such  cases  '  Innate 
Ideas '  do  exist,  and  that  '  Pre-established  Harmonies '  do  prevail  in 
nature.  These  old  doctrines,  so  long  ridiculed  and  denied,  have  come 
to  be  admitted,  and  the  new  philosophy  is  satisfied  with  attempts  to 
explain  how  these  '  Ideas '  came  to  be  innate,  and  how  these  '  Har- 
monies '  came  to  be  pre-established.  The  explanation  is,  that  though 
the  efficiency  of  experience  as  the  cause  or  source  of  Instinct  must  be 
given  up  as  regards  the  individual,  we  may  keep  it  as  regards  the  race 
to  which  the  individual  belongs."  —  Tr. 


4  TflE   PEDAGOGY   OF    HERBART. 

since  the  body  reacts  upon  the  soul.  To  the  inherent  facul- 
ties belongs,  for  instance,  the  special  capacity  for  music, 
which  has  its  chief  basis  in  the  corresponding  formation  of 
the  ear. 

But  there  are  also  acquired  faculties,  capacities.  They 
come  into  existence  through  the  peculiar  situation  into 
which  the  person  is  placed  by  his  birth,  and  which  is 
necessarily  peculiar  to  each  human  being.  The  child's  en- 
vironment is  composed  of  two  factors,  the  influence  of  the 
place  where,  and  the  society  in  which,  he  grows  up.  We 
see  the  significance  of  these  circumstances,  for  instance,  in 
the  case  of  Linne,  whose  father  owned  a  very  beautiful 
garden.  His  mother  quieted  him,  when  a  little  child,  with 
flowers ;  his  father  saw  to  it  that  he  noticed  the  plants, 
that  he  learned  their  names  and,  remembered  them.  Zin- 
zendorf  was  brought  up  in  the  home  of  his  grandmother, 
where  he  daily  heard  portions  of  the  Bible  read,  and  where 
Spencer,  Francke  and  Canstein  liked  to  associate  with  him. 
Inherent  capacity  is  something  inherited ;  the  faculties  we 
have  acquired  in  -the  earliest  years  are  an  external  appro- 
priation. 

From  the  above  it  follows  that  two  pupils  with  exactly 
the  same  educational  influences  would  develop  absolutely 
alike,  providing  that 

(1)  their  bodily  constitutions  were  completely  identical; 

(2)  their  acquired  capabilities  were  the  same  ; 

(3)  the  hidden  and  uncontrollable  influences  which  assist 
in  education  were  in  their  minutest  details  identical  as  to 
quality  and  degree.  But  as  these  two  factors  never  en- 
tirely agree,  children  of  the  same  environment  must  develop 
differently.  The  educator  cannot  make  of  his  pupil  what 
he  will;  he  cannot  form  him  entirely  according  to  his 
mind  (as  Helvetius,  not  Herbart,  claims),  for  the  inherent 
and  acquired   powers,  together  called  individuality,  resist 


PSYCHOLOGICAL   BASIS.  0 

his  influence  when  he  has  reached  a  certain  limit ;  there  are 
in  addition  to  this  all  manner  of  influences  that  hinder  the 
teacher  and  cross  his  plans,  so  that  the  pupil  does  not  even 
become  entirely  known,  to  him.  The  power  of  education 
must  not  be  regarded  as  greater  than  it  is,  nor  on  the  other 
hand,  as  less. 

All  educating  influence  affects  the  soul  by  means  of  the 
body.  The  senses  are  the  gateways  through  which  the 
psychic  life  makes  its  entrance.  Nothing  is  in  the  mind 
that  was  not  previously  in  the  senses.  From  this  it  follows, 
that  the  better  the  senses  of  a  person  are,  the  richer  and 
the  more  active  can  the  soul-content  be ;  the  feebler  or 
the  fewer  the  senses  are,  the  greater  the  loss  to  the  mental 
life.  The  loss  of  the  sense  of  sight  alone  would  reduce  the 
sense-percepts  to  one-tenth.  A  human  being  without  senses 
would  never  obtain  any  soul-content.  But  merely  to  have 
good  senses  is  not  sufficient  for  mental  culture ;  one  must 
also  come  into  contact  with  sense-objects.  The  mental 
activities  are  always  developed  in  parallelism  with  the 
sense-percepts  and  in  accordance  with  them  as  their  proto- 
types. The  preparation  which  serves  as  a  basis  for  all 
mental  work  subsequently  undertaken  for  the  purpose  of 
intellectual  culture,  is  the  elaboration  of  the  ideas  that  we 
obtain  from  sense  intuition  (taking  the  word  in  its  wider 
sense). 

Every  activity  of  the  soul  passes  through  the  medium 
of  the  sensorium,  from  the  first  taking  up  of  the  objective 
in  the  external  world,  up  to  the  highest  manifestation  of 
the  internal,  or  the  subjective.  From  this  standpoint  also 
Jean  Paul's  "  Invisible  Lodge  "  must  be  judged.  This  is 
a  pedagogical  romance  in  which  the  author  seeks  to  answer 
the  question,  how  a  boy,  by  means  of  his  native  ability, 
would  probably  develop,  who,  removed  from  the  harmful 
influences   of    the   world,    was    brought   up   in  an   under- 


6  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

ground  chamber.  Graphically  as  Jean  Paul  pictures  the 
moment  when  the  boy  for  the  first  time  emerges  upon  the 
upper  world  in  all  its  beauty,  he  has,  nevertheless,  forgotten 
that  a  boy  who  has  not  had  the  privilege  of  collecting  a 
large  store  of  concrete  sense  experiences  is  not  in  the  least 
educable,  but  is  utterly  incapable  of  interpreting  the  ex- 
ternal world.  A  case  in  point  is  Kaspar  Hauser.  Almost 
his  entire  youth  he  had  been  obliged  to  spend  in  a  dark 
room.  When  after  his  liberation  he  was  induced  from  a 
tower  at  Kuremberg  to  gaze  upon  the  beautiful  landscape, 
he  turned  away  at  once  with  evident  disgust.  Questioned 
later  as  to  his  conduct,  he  said :  "  When  I  looked  tow- 
ard the  windows,  it  always  seemed  as  if  a  board  had  been 
erected  very  close  before  my  eyes,  and  upon  this  a  painter 
had  spattered  his  brushes  of  white,  green,  blue,  yellow  and 
red,  all  in  motley  confusion.  Individual  objects,  as  I  see 
them,  I  could  not  then  distinguish.  I  convinced  myself 
later  during  my  walks  that  what  I  had  so  seen  were 
really  fields,  mountains  and  houses."  The  senses  also 
require  fostering  care  and  exercise.  They  must  be  opened 
like  a  canal  or  a  sluice,  in  order  that  the  external  world 
may  enter  into  the  soul.  They  must  be  rendered  keen 
like  a  photographic  apparatus,  in  order  that  the  thou- 
sandfold things  of  the  outer  world  may  impress  them- 
selves upon  the  soul  sharply,  clearly  and  permanently,  in 
images. 

If  we  look  into  our  mental  life,  we  shall  find  without 
trouble  the  following :  Something  seems  to  take  place 
within  us,  without  our  expending  either  active  or  passive 
force ;  this  is  perception.  Something  else  seems  to  happen 
to  us,  so  that  we  suffer  under  it.  This  is  feeling.  Another 
thing  seems  to  proceed  from  us  as  our  real  acting.  This 
may  be  called  in  general,  striving. 

In  the  older  psychology  representation  (thinking),  feel- 


PSYCHOLOGICAL   BASIS.  7 

ing  and  striving  (willing),  were  regarded  as  separate 
I  powers  of  the  soul.  Herbart,  on  the  contrary,  took  the 
position  that  these  three  activities  were  only  conditions  of 
a  common  fundamental  substance.  He  based  his  argument 
upon  experience,  metaphysics  and  mathematics.  We  can 
at  this  place  make  a  beginning  only  of  the  exposition  of 
the  Herbartian  theory  of  psychic  life  upon  the  basis  of 
>  experience. 

"We  will  first  consider  Representation.  Ideas  are  formed 
through  the  medium  of  the  senses.  If  I  take  a  piece  of 
sugar  in  my  hand,  I  get  the  notion  of  its  weight.  If  I  look 
at  it,  I  get  the  notion  of  its  whiteness.  If  I  put  it  into  my 
mouth,  I  perceive  its  sweetness.  The  notions  of  heavy, 
white  and  sweet,  which  in  their  separation  are  also  called 
percepts,  are  in  the  simple  soul  combined  into  the  image  of 
sugar.  This  image  formed  from  separate  perceptions  is 
the  compound  of  all  the  perceptions  which  we  have  of  an 
object.  Just  as  the  percepts  mediated  by  different  senses 
have  been  the  result,  not  of  a  simple,  but  of  a  compound 
act,  so,  too,  the  percepts  mediated  by  the  same  sense  are  of  a 
compound  nature.  For  instance,  if  I  am  to  form  a  percept 
of  a  rose-bush,  many  perceptions  must  be  made  of  the  red, 
green,  gray,  etc.  All  the  sensations  together  give  us  then 
the  sense  perception  of  the  rose-bush. 

Every  sense  is  accessible  only  to  certain  excitations. 
Suitable  to  sight  are  the  light-rays ;  these  we  perceive  with 
varying  brightness  and  color.  If  I  see  a  white  sphere,  the 
ray  of  light  emanating  from  that  point  of  the  surface 
next  to  me  is  brightest.  All  points  farther  removed  send 
darker  rays.  Because  in  other  instances  of  a  similar  con- 
dition of  light-rays  I  have  convinced  myself  of  the  sphe- 
ricity of  a  given  object,  I  conclude  now,  that  the  present 
object,  at  least  on  the  side  turned  toward  me,  has  a  spheri- 
cal surface.    Therefore,  when  I  ascribe  to  a  body  a  spherical 


8  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

form  on  the  basis  of  my  sight-impression,  I  have  from  the 
arrangement  of  the  light-rays  inferred  the  form  of  the 
object,  but  I  have  not  perceived  the  form  directly. 

The  auditory  nerve  is  excited  by  sound  vibrations.  If 
these  are  regiilar,  as,  for  instance,  in  a  guitar  string  that 
has  been  caused  to  vibrate,  the  mind  perceives  a  tone.  In 
moving  a  chair,  by  which  irregular  vibrations  are  produced, 
there  is  caused  in  the  mind  the  total-impression  of  noise. 
In  compound  tone  phenomena  (harmonies)  the  individual 
sensations  blend  into  one  total-sensation,  which  can  grad- 
ually resolve  itself  into  the  sensations  of  partial  tones. 
The  chord  CEG  causes  in  the  mind  a  total-sensation  in 
which  the  three  tones  assert  themselves  simultaneously; 
but  if  each  is  to  be  heard  distinctly,  it  can  only  be  done 
in  the  form  of  sequence.^ 

The  organ  of  the  sense  of  taste  is  principally  the  tongue 
with  its  numerous  papillee,  in  which  the  extremities  of  the 
gustatory  nerves  ramify.  They  are  excitable  only  by  sub- 
stances in  a  fluid  state,  chiefly  those  in  chemical  solution. 
For  mental  development  the  sense  of  taste,  though  not 
superfluous,  is  of  but  slight  importance.  But  to  the  body 
it  proves  very  serviceable.  The  same  is  true  of  the  sense 
of  smell.  The  olfactory  nerves  are  excited  by  a  chemical 
process  upon  the  mucous  membrane,  in  which  oxygen  is 
most  important,  for  only  such  substances  smell  as  combine 
easily  with  oxygen.  Taste  and  smell  often  influence  each 
other. 

In  feeling,  we  distinguish  touch  and  general  sensibility. 
The  tactile  sense  is  most  highly  developed  in  the  tongue, 
the  finger  tips  and  the  lips. 


1  The  sense  of  hearing  is  an  analyzing  sense,  inasmuch  as  it  is  able 
to  resolve  a  complex  tone-mass  into  its  component  parts.  This  has 
been  demonstrated  especially  by  Helmholtz. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL   BASIS.  9 

A  sight  perception  is  often  considered  uncertain  until  the 
sense  of  touch  has  been  consulted.  This  is  the  reason,  per- 
haps, why  every  person  possesses  the  inclination  to  touch 
objects  of  sight  with  the  hand;  witness,  for  instance,  the 
stereotyped  warnings  placarded  in  all  museums.  For  men- 
tal development,  therefore,  the  Sense  of  touch  is  of  great 
importance. 

AVith  the  general  sensibility  are  to  be  reckoned  the  pain 
sensations  of  the  skin,  and  the  muscle  sensations.  Upon 
the  latter  the  movement  of  the  limbs  depends;  by  means  of 
them  also  the  organs  of  speech  in  singing  are  brought  into 
appropriate  position  to  produce  any  desired  tone.  The  better 
trained  the  organs  of  speech  are,  that  is,  the  more  delicate 
their  muscular  sensibility,  the  purer  and  more  certain  is 
the  singing.  In  unaccustomed  bodily  labor  we  easily  grow 
weary,  because  in  the  absence  of  a  delicate  feeling  in  the 
muscles  thus  concerned,  we  employ  partly  too  much  and 
partly  too  little,  and  therefore  useless,  force. 

That  part  of  a  sense-perception  which  remains  in  the 
mind  after  the  excitation  wliich  has  caused  the  perception 
has  ceased,  is  called  a  percept,  or  perception.  We  acquire 
percepts  of  sweet,  red,  white,  etc. ;  if  such  simple  percepts 
are  combined  (in  the  case  of  sugar,  white,  heavy,  sweet), 
there  results  a  complex  sense-percept  or  intuition  (An- 
schauung).  But  the  intuition  is  always  the  perception  of 
the  individual  thing ;  of  this  oak,  of  that  pine.  We  have  a 
separate  image  of  each  of  the  various  trees  of  our  garden. 
But  there  is  also  an  image  that  lits  them  all  (the  concept, 
Begnff).  While  the  intuition  is  individual,  the  image  of 
the  last-named  sort  is  general,  abstract.  Ideas  can  there- 
fore be  divided  into  two  main  groups,  concrete  and  abstract 
(percepts  and  concepts).  The  concrete  again  separate 
themselves  into  simple  and  complex  perceptions. 

Ideas  form  the  content  of  the  mind ;  but  the  expression 


10  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

content  is  not  to  be  understood  as  if  something  had  loosed 
itself  from  the  external  objects,  which  now  had  gotten  from 
without  into  the  mind  or  soul.  In  consequence  of  the 
excitation,  there  is  formed  in  the  mind  a  certain  state  or 
condition.  Ideas,  therefore,  are  soul  conditions,  or  states. 
The  soul  is  their  bearer  (the  substance  or  essence  of  the 
ideas).  The  ideas  meet  in  the  simple  soul.  If  I  see  to-day 
a  tulip  and  to-morrow  another  just  like  it,  I  have  not,  there- 
fore, two  images  of  the  tulip  but  only  one,  which  after  the 
second  observation  is  clearer  than  after  the  fii-st.  Like  per- 
ceptions, therefore,  are  blended ;  they  become  one,  which  is 
also  a  clearer  one. 

Not  all  images  are  identical ;  many  are  similiar  to  each 
other,  i.e.,  they  have  like  and  unlike  compound  parts.  If  I 
see  a  square  table  and  a  rectangular  one,  the  similar  parts 
of  the  images  unite  and  stand  forth  clearer  (the  four  feet, 
the  board,  etc.)  ;  the  unlike  parts,  the  notions  of  the  rec- 
tangular and  square  form,  also  seek  to  come  into  clearness, 
but  since  neither  Avill  allow  the  other  to  advance,  the  unlike 
parts  combat  each  other,  and  the  similar  rise  into  unhin- 
dered clearness.  In  the  similar  we  forget  the  dissimilar, 
at  least  it  requires  a  certain  exertion  in  order  to  represent 
dissimilar  things  clearly.  We  say:  Similar  representations 
blend  or  fuse.  The  fusion  takes  place  most  easily  when 
the  representations  appear  at  nearly  the  same  time. 

But  there  are  also  notions  which  are  quite  incapable  of 
being  compared,  as  heavy,  white,  sweet.  There  can  be  no 
thought  of  fusion  here,  because  there  are  no  like  parts. 
But  if  they  appear  in  consciousness  at  about  the  same  time, 
they  form  a  cohering  group,  a  complication,  as  in  the  case 
of  sugar.  At  a  county  fair  we  see  the  booths  of  the  trinket 
vender;  the  race-course  and  the  multitude  of  men,  women 
and  children ;  we  hear  the  noise  of  voices  and  the  cry  of 
the  grotesque  fakir;  we  smell  the  odor  of  flowers  and  of 


PSYCHOLOGICAL   BASIS.  11 

tobacco  smoke;  we  taste  food  and  drink.  These  representa- 
tions together  form  the  complication  of  the  connty  fair. 

If  I  observe  a  phxnt  witli  close  attention,  I  think  of  noth- 
ing else ;  but  if  I  am  disturbed  in  this  activity,  the  idea  of 
the  plant  disappears ;  it  makes  room  for  the  ideas  which,  for 
instance,  a  conversation  gives  rise  to.  The  idea  has  been 
displaced,  arrested  by  others ;  we  say  also,  it  has  sunken, 
and  understand  by  this,  that  its  clearness  has  gradually 
diminished,  until  I  am  no  longer  conscious  of  it.  If  the 
disturber  goes  away,  I  easily  recall  the  idea  again,  without 
looking  at  the  plant  directly.  The  representation  becomes 
still  clearer,  and  soon  fills  my  entire  consciousness  again ; 
now  the  ideas  raised  by  the  previous  conversation  have  in 
turn  suriken.  An  idea  sinks,  therefore,  when  it  is  displaced 
by  another ;  though  it  fades,  for  the  time  being,  from  con- 
sciousness, it  does  not  disappear  from  the  soul,  but  presently 
rises  again.  Precisely  speaking,  but  one  concept  stands  in 
the  foreground  of  consciousness  at  a  time ;  the  others  have 
disappeared ;  they  are  below  the  threshold  of  consciousness, 
or  they  are  in  the  condition  of  sinking  or  of  rising.-^  We 
speak,  therefore,  of  a  narrowness  of  consciousness. 

The  ideas  are  never  all  in  a  state  of  rest,  but  some  are  in 
flux.  We  say  of  our  thoughts,  however,  they  are  at  rest, 
or  in  equilibrium  when  no  extraordinary  hastening  of  the 
stream  of  ideas  takes  place. 

Even  if  an  idea  has  temporarily  disappeared  from  con- 
sciousness, it  can,  as  the  example  above  shows,  return  again  ; 
it  can  be  reproduced.  The  process  of  reproduction  takes 
place  according  to  definite  laws,  first  discovered  by  Aris- 
totle. 

If  I  look  upon  a  mountain  scene,  which  has  similarity  to 

1  Lazarus  maintains  that  only  a  small  number  of  ideas  can  be  in 
consciousness  at  the  same  time,  but  not  merely  one  idea  alone. 


12  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

one  previously  observed,  the  image  of  the  latter  will  soon 
stand  before  my  soul  again  :  Law  of  Similarity.  The  want 
and  poverty  of  the  Prodigal  suggested  to  him  the  comfort 
and  abundance  of  his  father's  home  :  Laio  of  Contrast. 

After  Pharaoh  had  released  the  butler  from  prison,  the 
latter  soon  forgot  what  Josejih  had  urged  upon  him  when 
he  interpreted  the  dreams,  i'haraoh's  dream  subsequently 
reminded  him  of  his  own  and  its  interpretation,  and  then 
he  recalled  also  Joseph's  request  made  at  the  same  time : 
Laio  of  Coexistence,  or  Synchronism.^ 

If  we  have  thoroughly  learned  in  their  usual  sequence 
the  (German)  prepositions  governing  the  genitive  case 
(unweit,  mittels,  kraft,  etc.),  one  word  will  draw  into  con- 
sciousness the  next  immediately  following,  because  in  com- 
mitting them,  it  has  always  appeared  in  that  order :  Law  of 
Succession,  or  Sequence. 

Every  idea  continues  in  the  soul;  arresting  an  idea  is 
merely  binding  it,  rendering  it  latent,  not  annihilating  it. 

A  concept  or  idea  may  be  compared  to  an  elastic  spring, 
which  may  be  pressed  down  and  which  then  remains  in  this 
position  as  long  as  the  pressure  upon  it  continues,  but  which 
bounds  upward  as  soon  as  the  pressure  is  released.  If  an 
idea  rises  above  the  threshold  of  consciousness  of  its  own 
accord,  we  speak  of  an  immediate  reproduction  (liberation  = 
rising-free  [freisteigen]  of  the  concept).  Here  are  two 
cases  to  be  distinguished.  The  first  case  we  have  before 
us,  for  instance,  in  waking  from  sleep,  when  the  thoughts 
come  forth  of  themselves,  or  on  returning  to  our  business, 
after  an  interruption,  when  the  concepts  of  the  objects  with 
Avhich  we  have  been  busy,  rise  anew  of  themselves,  after 

1  Wlio  has  not  had  an  experience  such  as  I  have  passed  through, 
when  in  later  years  of  manhood  a  bouquet  of  old-fashioned  flowers, 
which  to  us  children  had  been  a  delight,  has  often  by  its  familiar  odors 
given  ineffable  glimpses  of  ecstasy  into  the  divine  past  of  childhood  ? 


PSYCHOLOGICAL   BASIS.  13 

they  liad  been  for  awhile  displaced.  In  these  examples  tlie 
track  for  the  rising  concept  has,  so  to  speak,  become  clear  of 
itself.  Let  us  now  consider  the  second  case.  Let  a  concept 
A  be  depressed  by  another  concept  B.  Now  let  an  idea  C 
from  without,  not  fusible  with  B,  enter  into  consciousness. 
A  struggle  now  takes  place  between  B  and  C,  the  result  of 
which  is  a  mutual  arresting ;  by  this  arresting  the  previ- 
ously oppressed  concept  profits  and  rises  above  the  thresh- 
old of  consciousness.  The  arrested  idea  is  liberated  by 
the  arrester.  Opposed  to  the  immediate  reproduction  is 
the  mediate.  This  takes  place  when  an  idea  in  conscious- 
ness draws  into  consciousness  another  which  was  already 
previously  connected  with  it.  The  idea  which  causes  the 
return  is  called  auxiliary.  AVhen  ideas  are  so  related  that 
the  one  will  draw  the  other  after  it,  we  say:  they  cling 
together,  they  are  knotted  together,  they  are  associated. 
The  associations  formed  by  fusion  are  the  most  permanent ; 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  in  the  case  of  complications  or 
idea-groups  which  have  only  an  external  connection,  a  link 
may  easily  be  lost. 

The  reproduction  of  ideas  is  not  in  all  persons  equally 
lively,  nor  in  the  same  person  at  different  times.  In  some 
cases  it  may  be  accelerated  by  artificial  means,  for  instance, 
by  the  moderate  use  of  spirituous  drinks.  So,  too,  it  may  be 
checked.  In  the  fable  by  Hagedorn,  the  miser,  when  he 
sees  what  the  monkey  has  done  with  his  gold,  gets  so  be- 
side himself  with  rage,  that  he  can  no  longer  speak. 

"  Let  me  but  get  thee,  thief,  thy  blood  —  " 
Here  stopped  his  rage  the  verbal  flood. 

So  many  ideas  crowd  into  consciousness  at  the  same  time, 
that  at  last  no  one  of  them  has  predominating  clearness. 
Strong  sense  excitations  also  have  at  times  the  same  effect. 
For  this  reason  the  unpracticed  speaker  looks  upon  a  fixed 


14         THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

point  so  as  not  to  lose  the  thread  of  liis  discourse.  It  is 
well  known  that  diseases  of  the  nerves  weaken  tlie  power 
of  mental  reproduction. 

Memory  is  the  faculty  the  mind  has  of  preserving  ideas 
unchanged,  and  of  reproducing  them. 

We  can  also  impress  a  thing  upon  the  memory  by  observ- 
ing the  connection  of  facts.  Thus  the  superscriptions  of 
a  well-known  Bible  story  are  easily  remembered :  1.  God 
calleth  Abram.  2.  He  depirteth  with  Lot  from  Haran. 
3.  He  journeyeth  through  Canaan.  4.  He  is  driven  by 
famine  to  Egypt.  5.  Abram  and  Lot  return  from  Egypt, 
etc.  In  learning  the  cohesion  of  ideas,  we  notice  the  in- 
ternal connection  of  the  matter :  we  learn  intelligently, 
judiciously  {irom  judicium,  judgment).  One  kind  of  mem- 
ory (better  of  reproduction)  is,  therefore,  the  judicious. 

If  we  have  something  in  which  there  is  no  connection 
to  commit  to  memory,  we  must  help  ourselves  in  another 
way.  In  order  to  learn  the  names  of  the  rivers  which  rise 
in  the  Fichtelgebirge  we  remember  the  word  mens,  and  with 
the  assistance  of  this  word  we  shall  easily  reproduce  the 
names  Main,  Eger,  Naab  and  Saale.  The  words,  ^' Every 
good  boy  does  finely,"  will  fix  the  names  of  the  notes  which 
have  their  position  upon  lines.  Here  we  have  created  an 
artificial  connection  between  the  really  unconnected.  This 
manner  of  learning  is  called  artificial,  or  ingenious,  because 
the  ingenium,  or  wit,  seeks  resemblances  between  things 
often  lying  far  remote  from  each  other.  The  second  kind 
of  memory,  therefore,  is  the  ingenious. 

But  there  are  cases  when  we  can  learn  neither  judiciously 
nor  ingeniously ;  as,  for  instance,  lists  of  words  such  as 
prepositions,  prefixes  and  suffixes,  etc.  Such  are  to  be 
learned  in  their  given  order  of  sequence  by  many  repeti- 
tions alone.  The  sequence  will  become  the  stronger,  the 
oftener   the  list   has   been  repeated.      By  association  one 


^ 


PSYCHOLOGICAL   BASIS.  15 

"word  will  draw  the  other,  and  that  the  next,  into  conscious- 
ness.    This  is  mechanical  memory. 

These  three  kinds  of  memory  find  their  application  in 
school ;  most  of  all  the  judicious.  In  the  case  of  the 
ingenious  memory,  which  may  sometimes  be  of  good  service, 
we  must  not,  of  course,  overlook  the  fact  that  a  second  thing 
must  be  learned  in  order  to  retain  the  first.  Of  a  good 
memory  several  things  are  required:  The  process  of  com- 
mitting must  not  be  too  difficult  (ease)  ;  what  is  committed 
must  remain  unchanged  (faithfulness);  the  thing  learned 
should  be  permanent  — the  memory  must  be  ready  to  serve, 
i.e.,  the  thing  learned  must  be  rei)roducible  at  any  moment ; 
finally,  the  memory  should  be  extensive.  All  these  qualities 
combined  are  found  only  in  the  rarest  instances.  Thus 
ease  and  permanency  usually  exclude  each  other,  which 
may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  a  rapid  fusion  of  ideas 
does  not  take  place  so  thoroughly  as  a  slow  one.  A  good 
memory  is  attained,  if  we  take  pains  to  bring  new  ideas,— ^'C^ 
into  intimate  connection  with  older  ones.  The  passionate 
novel  reader  weakens  his  memory  immensely  because  the 
rapidity  and  haste  of  his  reading  leave  him  no  time  for 
thorough  performance  of  the  process  of  appropriation.  If 
the  ideas  enter  into  no  connection,  then  the  acquired  material 
has  no  value,  because  it  is  subjected  too  slightly  to  the  laws 
of  reproduction  ;  it  also  fades  too  readily  from  consciousness 
because  it  has  no  points  of  attachment. 

But  the  memory  can  also  be  strengthened  through  practice.  ^^  ^ 
He  who  Avould  thoroughly  commit  a  thing  to  memory, 
must  watch  over  it,  lest  other  ideas  crowd  themselves 
between  the  members  of  what  he  wishes  to  memorize  and 
thus  hinder  their  connections.  This  requires  a  high 
degree  of  self-control,  which  can  be  the  result  only  of  long- 
continued  practice. 

When  Joseph  bound  one  of  his  brothers,  the  others  said : 


16  THE   PEDAGOGY    OF    IIKKT.AKT. 

"  We  are  verily  guilty  concerning  our  brother,"  and  Reuben 
said  further :  "  Spake  I  not  unto  you,"  etc.  In  the  soul  of 
Reuben  rose  again  the  image  of  that  occurrence,  and  he  had 
at  the  same  time  the  consciousness  that  it  had  taken  place 
earlier.  That  was  remembering.  We  can  therefore  call 
remembering  the  reproduction  of  an  idea,  if  we  are  at  tlie 
same  time  conscious  that  we  have  acquired  the  latter  earlier. 
It  can  be  voluntary  or  involuntary.  If  it  is  brought  forth 
voluntarily,  reflection  is  involved. 

If  the  obscuring  of  an  idea  has  reached  such  a  high  degree 
that  it  disappears  for  any  considerable  length  of  time  from 
consciousness,  it  is  "forgotten."  "Yet  did  not  the  cliii'f 
butler  remember  Joseph,  but  forgot  him."  But  there  is  no 
such  thing  as  absolute  forgetting,  as  appears  from  the  sequel 
of  the  Biblical  story  referred  to ;  for  as  long  as  an  idea 
remains  in  the  soul  (and  it  is  well  known  that  it  can  never 
entirely  dis:\ppear  from  it),  so  long  there  also  remains  the 
possibility  of  the  reproduction  of  this  idea.  A  voluntary 
forgetting  is  at  least  very  difficult ;  on  this  account,  as  is 
well  known,  the  Greeks  ascribed  miraculous  power  to  the 
mythical  river  Lethe. 

If  I  have  seen  a  mirror,  the  frame  of  which  is  covered 
with  carving,  I  can  think  of  the  latter  as  absent,  and  then 
an  entirely  simple  mirror  stands  before  my  mental  eye. 
The  idea  in  this  instance  has  been  reproduced  in  a  changed 
form.  The  activity  of  the  soul,  by  means  of  which  this 
change  is  accomplished,  is  called  Imagination.  Since  in  the 
above  instance  something  has  been  thought  away,  with- 
drawn, abstracted,  viz.,  the  carving  of  the  frame,  this  kind 
of  imagination  is  called  abstracting  imagination.  Just  as 
the  abstracting  imagination  can  master  objects  of  sense,  so, 
too,  can  it  master  objects  of  thought.  Imagination  often 
abstracts  the  less  important.  It  eliminates  what  is  non- 
essential; whereby  the  essential  is  seen  the  more  clearly. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  BASIS.  17 

Thus  Ave  form  general  concepts.  But  after  I  have  seen  a 
plain  mirror,  I  can  also  add  in  thought  the  carving.  In 
tliis  case  a  new  element  is  brought  into  the  old  idea. 
Schwab  read  in  the  newspaper  the  report  that  in  Tutt- 
lingen  lightning  had  killed  four  persons.  By  means  of 
the  second  kind  of  imagination,  he  introduced  a  multitude 
of  new  features  (the  playing  of  the  child,  the  spinning  of 
the  grandmother,  the  conversation,  etc.),  and  thus  rose 
his  well-known  poem.  This  kind  of  imaginative  reproduc- 
tion is  called  the  determinating  reproduction,  since  it  intro- 
duces closer  modifications. 

In  the  poem  "Of  the  Little  Tree  that  went  Walking," 
Riickert  disregards  the  fact  that  the  plant  is  bound  to  its 
place  and  introduces  the  new  modification  of  speaking  ;  here 
the  abstracting  and  the  determinating  imagination  co-operate 
and  thus  form  the  combining  or  constructing  imagination, 
which  often  unites  the  most  contradictory  elements. 

It  is  clear  that  the  imagination  does  not  really  create 
anything  new.  It  only  designs  its  work  with  the  given 
material,  the  ideas.  Just  so  is  it  with  dreaming.  This 
usually  takes  place  in  a  semi-sleep,  and  can  have  a  twofold 
occasion,  a  bodily  and  a  mental  one.  The  sensations,  for  ex- 
ample, which  are  created  by  difficulties  of  breathing,  awaken 
similar,  previously  acquired  ideas.  And  thus  it  happens 
that  persons  suffering  from  breathing  difficulties  often  dreani 
of  climbing  mountains  or  of  other  extremely  fatiguing 
movements.  Ideas  which  by  day  very  forcibly  enter  into 
the  foreground  of  consciousness  by  night  often  occasion 
dreams  which  sometimes  grow  so  exciting  that  they  cause 
us  to  awake.  Every  one  who  has  anticipated  an  examina- 
tion which  seemed  to  him  difficult  can  confirm  the  above. 
Dreaming  consists  of  a  concatenation  of  various  ideas,  which 
proceeds  according  to  the  laws  of  reproduction.  As  we 
have  no  control  over  our  ideas  in  sleep,  it  becomes  plain 


18  THE   PEDAGOGY   OF    HERBAIIT. 

that  ideas  often  combine,  which,  in  a  wakiHg  condition,  we 
would  not  permit  to  do  so. 

It  needs  no  special  demonstration  to  show  that  in  actual 
dreaming,  the  laws  of  reproduction  are  active  mostly  in  a 
tangled  and  inextricable  state;  yet  the  correctness  of  the 
doctrine  of  psychology  will  not  be  disputed  when  it  declares 
that  the  most  fantastic  dream  develops  according  to  definite 
laws. 

Dreaming  can  instruct  us  concerning  our  own  thought- 
content.  Moral  defects  often  first  become  known  to  us  in 
dreams.  Here  come  thronging  forth  many  bad  and  im- 
pure thoughts  that  we  would  prohibit  in  a  waking  con- 
dition. For  this  reason  we  need  not  fear  to  be  imposed 
upon  by  one  who  would  not  even  dream  of  committing  such 
an  act. 

Having  hitherto  discussed  concrete  ideas  chiefly,  we  will 
now  speak  also  of  abstract  ideas,  which  arise  from  the  con- 
crete. The  transition  from  the  concrete  to  the  abstract 
takes  place  for  the  most  part  involuntarily  through  numer- 
ous perceptions  of  things  of  a  like  kind.  If  a  child  has  seen 
only  a  table  with  quadrangular  top,  he  cannot  conceive  of 
any  other  table.  The  conception  that  he  has  is  individual. 
It  fits  only  a  definite  form ;  but  if  he  sees  a  table  with  a 
round  top,  his  notion  of  a  table  is  already  expanded,  for  it 
fits  at  least  two  kinds  of  tables.  Each  additional  concrete 
notion  of  a  different  kind  of  table  expands  his  conception  of 
table  in  general.  But  the  latter  image  is  then  no  longer  the 
image  of  an  individual  thing;  it  is  an  abstraction  which  fits 
at  once  all  the  observed  things,  but  which  cannot  itself  be 
observed.  Without  knowing  it,  the  child  has  gradually 
dropped  all  accidental  qualities  (quadrangular,  circular, 
semi-circular,  etc.)  and  has  held  fast  all  concordant  charac- 
teristics. There  has  arisen  an  ideal  image,  but  one  which 
may  become  modified  further  in  consequence  of  new  experi- 


PSYCHOLOGICAL   BASIS.  19 

ences  (of  flower-tables,  sewing-tables,  etc.).  Characteristics 
which  b?fore  a  new  observation  have  been  regarded  as  essen- 
tial, may  after  the  observation  be  excluded  as  non-essential. 
The  ideal  image  therefore  remains  incomplete  in  so  far  as  it 
is  not  the  result  of  observation  of  all  existing  varieties  of 
tables.  Then,  too,  the  purposeless  observation  of  individual 
tables  does  not  render  an  accurate  account  as  to  what  is  con- 
cordant and  what  is  not. 

Such  an  image,  spontaneously  arising,  is  called  a  natural 
psychic  concept  (natur-wiichsiger  psychischer  Begriff).  In 
the  psychic  concept  we  find  the  essentials  and  non-essentials 
of  a  thing  mingled.  In  order  to  separate  them  completely, 
that  is,  in  order  to  find  the  logical  concept,  two  things  are 
necessary  ;  fi.rst  we  must  know,  for  example,  all  varieties  of 
the  table,  and  then  the  non-agreeing  characteristics  must 
carefully  (with  purpose)  be  excluded.  If  we  continue  our 
illustration,  we  find  that  that  which  otherwise  in  life  seems 
to  us  to  be  of  importance,  its  size,  its  form,  the  number  of 
its  feet,  its  solidity,  the  material  of  which  it  is  made,  etc., 
are  of  no  consequence  for  the  real  essence  of  a  table,  but 
that  it  necessarily  must  have  (a)  a  horizontal  free-lying 
board  or  tojj,  (6)  that  this  must  be  suitably  supported, 
(c)  that  the  whole  must  serve  the  design  that  things  may 
be  laid  upon  it,  or  that  something  may  be  done  upon  it. 
In  these  three  designations  is  contained  that  of  which  the 
nature  of  a  table  per  se  consists.  From  this  illustration  it 
is  seen  that  it  is  not  easy  to  define  the  notion  of  a  thing 
correctly.  If  the  definition  of  a  notion  is  incomplete  or 
false,  and  if  it  is  nevertheless  regarded  as  correct  and  further 
applied,  the  entire  thought  structure  which  has  been  erected 
upon  it  is  false.  Notions  of  objects  of  sense  are  more 
easily  formed  than  notions  of  objects  of  thought,  because 
the  characteristics  of  the  latter  are  not  so  easily  discern- 
ible.    Concepts  are  only  the  products  of  thought,  not  really 


20  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

existing  things.  There  exist  only  definite  oaks,  definite 
beeches,  definite  pines,  but  not  what  would  be  a  tree  in 
general.  The  logical  notion  remains  unchanged,  but  not 
the  j^sychical;  the  latter  is  vacillating.  The  psychical 
notion  differs  in  different  persons,  the  logical  coincides  in 
all.  Those  notions,  too,  which  are  formed  intentionally, 
remain  psychical,  if  all  the  kinds  of  the  object  are  not 
represented.  By  far  the  most  of  our  notions  are  psychical. 
When  two  ideas  rise  into  consciousness  (simple  or  com- 
pound concrete  notions,  or  abstract  ideas),  we  reflect 
w^hether  they  are  related  to  each  other.  Let  one  notion  be 
"  man,"  the  other  "  mortal "  ;  we  find  a  relation  between 
these  notions  and  express  it  with  the  words :  "  Man  is 
mortal."  AVe  have  expressed  a  judgment,  an  affirmative 
judgment.  Just  as  there  are  affirmative  judgments,  so  there 
are  also  negative,  denying  judgments.  If  the  judgment  has 
reference  to  one  object,  it  is  singular;  if  to  several  (some 
birds  are  Kaptores),  it  is  particular;  "All  men  are  mortal," 
is  a  universal  judgment.  If  I  see  the  sky  overcast  by  dark 
clouds,  I  judge  that  it  will  soon  rain  and  I  judge  in  this 
manner,  because  at  other  times  under  the  same  conditions 
the  rain  came.  I  am  therefore  conscious  of  the  reasons 
upon  which  my  judgment  is  based;  such  a  judgment  is 
called  a  conclusion,  and  in  this  case  it  is  a  conclusion  from 
analogy.  Because  up  to  the  present  all  men  have  died,  I 
conclude  that  all  men  are  mortal.  This  is  a  conclusion 
from  the  many  individuals  to  the  general.  The  more 
numerous  the  individual  instances,  the  better  the  prospect, 
that  the  general,  the  conclusion,  is  true. 

Ideas  are  acquired  in  order  that  they  may  be  utilized.  To 
this  end  they  must  be  able  to  return  into  consciousness 
easily.  Therefore,  it  must  be  the  care  of  the  teacher  to  see 
that  the  single  ideas  enter  into  combination  with  each  other, 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  BASIS.  21 

in  order  that  the  thought-complex  may  be  easily  traversed 
from  any  desired  point ;  otherwise,  though  under  favorable 
circumstances  groups  of  ideas  may  be  formed,  there  is  no 
connection  between  them ;  each  group  forms  an  isolated 
whole  for  itself, — the  one  knows  nothing  of  the  other,  be- 
cause it  is  separated  from  it  by  a  gulf.  The  willing  and 
acting  of  a  person,  as  an  outgrowth  of  his  ideas,  are  in  that 
case  governed  by  the  group  which  at  that  instance  is  in 
his  consciousness.  There  arise  then  certain  phases  of  his 
manner  of  thinking  and  acting  which  continue  until  the 
content  of  the  group  has  become  exhausted;  then  comes 
the  turn  of  another  group,  which  is  often  an  utter  con- 
tradiction of  the  group  first  in  control.  A  very  striking 
illustration  of  this  is  furnished  by  Immermann  in  his 
"  Munchhausen,"  in  which  he  has  an  old  captain  appear, 
who  has  served  first  in  the  French  and  then  in  the  Prussian 
army,  and  who  is  now  alternately  the  enthusiastic  supporter 
of  the  great  Napoleon,  now  of  the  king  of  Prussia.  He 
creates  military  order  among  his  recollections  and  divides 
them,  as  it  were,  into  two  separate  corps,  which  act  indepen- 
dently. For  a  time  he  is  a  Prenchman,  absorbed  in  the 
glories  of  the  Napoleonic  time,  then  again  for  a  time  he  is  as 
decided  a  Prussian  and  eulogist  of  the  exaltation  of  that 
great  epoch  of  national  uprising. 

So,  likewise,  it  is  possible  that  one  may  be  orthodox  to- 
day and  to-morrow  the  most  pronounced  free-thinker ;  that 
he  should  to-day  defend  one  opinion  and  to-morrow  with 
equal  zeal  maintain  the  opposite.  Since  the  essence  of 
character  rests  primarily  upon  a  certain  steadiness  of  voli- 
tion, which,  we  know,  proceeds  from  ideas,  it  becomes  evi- 
dent that  a  person  with  several  isolated  concept-masses  will 
always  possess  an  unstable  character,  whose  desiring  and 
willing  cannot  always  be  consistent.  We  must  therefore 
assent  to  Herbart  when  he  says,  "  The  mastery  over  edu- 


22  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

cation  is  not  secured  until  one  knows  how  to  bring  into  the 
youthful  soul  a  great  thought-complex,  Avhich  possesses  the 
power  to  overcome  what  is  unfavorable  in  its  surroundings, 
to  absorb  what  is  favorable  and  unite  it  with  itself." 

These  concepts  which  approach  another  (greater)  con- 
cept group  may  stand  to  the  several  parts  of  the  latter  in  a 
threefold  relation ;  they  may  be  like  them  or  similar  or  in- 
capable of  comjKirison  with  them.  As  we  have  seen,  like 
concepts  coalesce  into  a  single  clearer  one;  nothing  new  has 
therefore  been  added  to  the  treasury  of  ideas.  Concepts 
incapable  of  comparison  maintain  a  mutual  indifference  ; 
their  connection  always  remains  an  external  one.  Conse- 
quently we  may  speak  of  assimilation  or  apperception  only 
with  reference  to  similar  concepts.  In  the  process  of  apper- 
ception older  concepts  or  concept-masses  are  often  tra)ts- 
f armed.  The  transformation  of  new  notions  depends  upon 
the  character  of  the  older  ones.  The  latter  tell  us,  for  in- 
stance, that  the  earth  is  a  sphere  and  revolves  about  the  sun. 
The  eye  communicates  to  us  the  notion  of  the  earth  as  a 
plane  about  which  the  sun  revolves.  Nevertheless,  we  do 
not  believe  the  evidence  of  the  eye  ;  the  notion  communi- 
cated by  it  is  therefore  transformed.  The  child  that  has 
seen  only  double  roses,  believes  that  being  double  is  essen- 
tial to  the  rose.  But  this  notion  is  transformed  as  soon  as 
he  has  become  acquainted  with  a  rose  tliat  is  single.  Older 
notions,  therefore,  can  be  transformed  in  the  process  of 
apperception. 

The  relation  of  perception  (cognition)  to  apperception 
(appropriation)  is  characterized  by  Lazarus  as  follows: 
The  soul  filled  with  any  psychic  content  reacts  differently 
than  it  does  without  it,  and  thus  this  very  special,  definite, 
previously  acquired  content,  to  the  degree  and  in  the  manner 
in  which  it  is  of  influence  upon  the  subsequent  process, 
appears  as  the  co-operative  organ  of  the  soul.     Pure  percep- 


PSYGHOLOGICAL  BASIS.  26 

tion  by  a  soul  having  no  content  at  all  is  a  pale  abstraction. 
Such  perception  scarcely  exists  even  in  the  new-born  babe. 
The  soul  as  a  sentient  being  perceives  in  accordance  with 
its  original  nature,  while  it  at  the  same  time  also  apper- 
ceives  in  accordance  with  the  elements  acquired  by  previous 
activity.  An  apperception  is  not  added  to  the  finished 
perception,  but  the  latter  takes  shape  under  the  co-operation 
and  essentially  determining  influence  of  the  former.  To 
this  proposition  one  can  surely  assent,  especially  if  one 
agrees  with  Lazarus  in  denominating  as  apperception  the 
adoption  into  the  thought- realm  of  those  notions  (for  in- 
stance, in  the  recognition  of  a  person)  which  find  there  other 
concepts  identical  with  themselves.  But  this  part  of  apper- 
ception, which  together  with  perception  forms  one  act,  is 
very  often  insufficient  completely  to  absorb  the  new  ;  very 
often  there  are  but  few  and  delicate  threads  which  connect 
the  new  with  the  old  in  the  act  of  perception.  But  the 
connection  ought  to  be  as  many-sided  and  as  strong  as 
possible,  and  hence  in  very  many  cases  there  must  follow 
after  the  act  of  percei^tion  a  thorough  "  reflection,"  in  con- 
sequence of  which  there  takes  place  a  new  and  stronger 
apperception.  Frequently  this  requires  the  assistance  of 
others,  as,  for  instance,  the  teacher  must  often  call  up  to  the 
mind  of  the  child  those  images  which  are  similar  to  the  new. 
If  all  the  ideas  by  means  of  which  in  a  given  case  the  mind 
apperceives  were  always  ''standing  like  armored  knights 
at  the  inner  citadel  of  consciousness,  in  order  to  pounce 
upon  everything  which  shows  itself  in  the  portals  of  the 
senses,  to  overpower  it  and  force  it  into  service,"  such 
assistance  would  not  be  at  all  necessary.  But  since  this  is 
not  the  case,  it  happens  that  similar  concepts  or  concept- 
masses  remain  for  some  time  in  consciousness  without  con- 
tact, and  blend  only  when  they  are  reproduced  simultane- 
ously.    We  can  define  the  essence  of  apperception  as  that 


24  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

mutual  interaction  between  two  similar  concepts  or  concept- 
masses,  by  which  the  one  is  more  or  less  changed  by  the 
other  and  ultimately  blended  with  it. 

It  is  important  for  the  complete  success  of  apperception, 
that  consciousness  concern  itself  exclusively  with  that  which 
is  to  be  appropriated  and  to  let  alone  everything  foreign  to 
it ;  to  permit  only  such  ideas  to  rise  as  have  some  relation 
to  the  new ;  in  short,  that  consciousness  concentrate  itself 
upon  the  new.  This  concentration,  or  disposition  of  con- 
sciousness, for  the  purpose  of  securing  an  accession  of  ideas 
we  call  Attention.  Attention  differs,  according  as  it  is  ex- 
ercised without  the  aid  of  the  will,  or  by  means  of  it.  If  I 
am  lost  in  thought  and  a  shot  is  fired,  all  my  thoughts  are 
gone  in  a  moment  and  I  listen  only  to  the  sound  of  the  shot, 
without  specially  willing  to  do  so.  If  the  children  in  my 
class  are  restless,  and  I  hang  a  picture  upon  the  wall,  the 
restlessness  will  soon  disappear  ;  the  children  become  atten- 
tive to  the  picture  without  forming  a  definite  resolution. 
There  is  accordingly  an  involuntary  attention,  which  is 
based  upon  the  strength  and  the  newness  of  the  sensuous 
impression;  it  is  called  primitive  or  original  attention.  If 
there  is  a  child  in  the  room  while  I  read  aloud  in  some 
learned,  scientific  book,  he  will  not  listen  to  me ;  but  he 
will  pay  attention  as  soon  as  I  take,  for  instance,  a  book  of 
fairy  tales,  because  this  deals  with  ideas  that  are  largely 
similar  or  at  least  related  to  those  in  his  own  consciousness. 
In  this  case  the  attention  does  not  depend  upon  the  strength 
of  the  sensuous  impression,  but  upon  the  fact  that  related 
images  are  aroused  and  apperception  takes  place.  This 
species  of  involuntary  attention  is  called  appercciving  atten- 
tion. Wholly  unknown  ideas  will  not  arouse  our  involun- 
tary attention,  because  there  are  no  points  of  attachment 
for  them  in  our  minds ;  something  wholly  known  will  per- 
haps arouse,  but  not  hold  it  permanently,  since  no  idea  is 


PSYCHOLOGICAL   BASIS.  25 

apperceived.  A  happy  mixture  of  the  known  and  the  un- 
known interests  us  most.  For  education  the  involuntary 
apperceiving  attention  is  extremely  important,  since  with 
its  co-operation  the  new  is  worked  up  without  compulsion, 
i.e.,  is  brought  into  intimate  relation  to  the  present  store  of 
thought. 

But  involuntary  attention  of  itself  alone  is  very  often  too 
weak ;  the  teacher  must,  even  though  the  children  are  some- 
what interested  in  the  subject,  request  them  to  collect  their 
thoughts,  so  that  they  may  not  be  half  but  entirely  with  the 
subject ;  for  example,  that  they  may  not  observe  the  experi- 
ment in  physics  superficially,  but  in  such  a  manner  that  they 
may  discover  at  once  what  is  to  be  shown.  Such  attention 
requires  that  the  child  collect  himself,  that  he  do  not  allow 
himself  to  be  disturbed  by  the  distracting  influences  of  the 
external  world,  but  that  he  free  himself  of  them,  that  he 
concentrate  his  attention  and  control  the  course  of  his 
thoughts.  This  is  the  way  to  self-control ;  this  guards 
against  flightiness  and  listlessness,  which  are  the  bane  of 
moral  life.  But,  neveitheless,  the  involuntary  attention 
must  assume  the  controlling  position  in  the  recitation,  and 
never  may  its  co-operation  be  dispensed  with ;  for  the  mere 
purpose  of  the  pupil  to  be  attentive  produces  no  strong  com- 
prehension and  little  cohesion  of  what  is  learned;  he  wavers 
constantly,  and  often  enough  gives  way  to  weariness.  From 
this  follows  logically  the  demand,  that  we  attach  all  the 
new  (unknown)  to  the  known,  i.e.,  that  we  make  sure  of  the 
involuntary  attention  at  the  beginning  of  the  recitation 
hour,  not  waiting  with  the  hope  that  it  may  appear  dur- 
ing progress  of  the  recitation. 

Thus  far  we  have  spoken  of  concepts  or  ideas  (Vor- 
stellungen).  They  are  the  primary  states  or  conditions 
of  the  soul,  and  can,  in  turn,  have  their  own  (secon- 
dary) conditions.     The  latter  divide  into  two  groups,  viz., 


26  THE  PEDAGOGY   OF  HERBART. 

the  feelings  and  the  desires.  We  will  first  speak  of  the 
feelings. 

A  mother  has  promised  to  take  her  two  children  to  the 
f  lir.  Long  in  advance,  they  picture  to  themselves,  upon 
the  basis  of  previously  acquired  ideas,  all  the  glories  that 
await  them.  The  looked-for  day  arrives ;  they  think  of 
nothing  else,  forget  eating  and  drinking,  always  busy  with 
those  concepts  that  have  reference  to  the  fair,  while  all 
otliers  have  sunken.  Shortly  before  the  appointed  hour,  one 
of  the  children  is  naughty  and  his  mother  says  :  "  Now  you 
must  stay  at  home."  Tliere  arises  a  severe  struggle  within 
the  child.  Those  ideas  that  have  previously  been  rising  are 
so  lively  that  they  cannot  at  once  sink  below  the  threshold 
of  consciousness  (be  forgotten),  while  new  ideas  not  at  all 
reconcilable  with  the  former  (prohibition),  appear  with  full 
force.  Thus  the  rising  of  concepts  is  arrested,  and  the 
result  of  check  is  a  feeling  of  pain,  which  relieves  itself  by 
weeping.  Now  the  sister  intercedes  for  the  offender  and 
inamma  says,  "For  this  once  I  will  let  it  pass;  come,  let  me 
dress  yon."  Now  the  previously  arrested  concepts  fly  up 
into  consciousness,  as  if  by  a  suddenly  released  spring,  be- 
cause arrest  has  disappeared,  and  the  child  laughs  out,  while 
the  tears  still  stand  in  his  eyes.  A  feeling  is  therefore 
the  becoming  aware  of  an  arrest  or  promotion  of  those  ideas 
which  at  the  time  predominate  in  consciousness.  Arrest 
produces  a  feeling  of  pain;  promotion  a  feeling  of  pleasure. 
If  feelings  of  pain  and  feelings  of  pleasure  follow  each 
other  so  rapidly  that  they  cannot  be  kept  apart,  we  speak  of 
mixed  feelings,  fluctuations  of  feeling. 

But  not  all  checks  and  promotions  in  the  concept  life 
appeal  to  consciousness ;  most  of  them  are  too  weak  to  ren- 
der themselves  noticeable  singly.  All  faint  promotions  and 
checks  together  form  a  faint  total-feeling,  called  life  or  vital 
feeling,  which  is  an  obscure  feeling  of  pleasure,  because  the 


PSYCHOLOGICAL   BASIS.  27 

promotions,  if  not  always,  yet  in  general,  overbalance  the 
arrests.^  This  vital  feeling  forms,  as  it  were,  the  threshold, 
above  which  the  individual  feeling  must  rise,  if  it  is  to 
become  perceivable. 

In  common  usage  feelings  are  often  confounded  with  sen- 
sations ;  but  they  are  distinguished  from  them  in  that  the 
former  bring  into  our  consciousness  conditions  of  the  soul, 
the  latter  conditions  of  the  body ;  again,  sensations  are 
primary,  feelings  secondary  soul-states. 

We  have  now  recognized  that  feeling  is  not  a  separate, 
independent  faculty  of  the  soul,  but  only  a  consequence  of 
the  mutual  interaction  of  ideas.  These  feelings  are  divided 
into,  (1)  those  whose  inception  depends  upon  the  form  of 
the  thought  movement  (formal  feelings) ;  (2)  those  which 
receive  their  character,  not  from  the  direction  of  the  ideas, 
but  from  their  content  (qualitative  feelings). 

Let  us  make  these  two  kinds  clear  by  examples.  1.  We 
wish  for  rain.  In  consequence  of  previous  observations 
there  has  been  formed  within  us  the  following  concept 
series:  (1)  Oppressive  heat.  (2)  In  the  distance  a  cloud- 
covered  sky.  (3)  Approach  of  the  clouds.  (4)  Lightning 
and  thunder.  (5)  Rain.  If  now  we  observe  the  oppres- 
sive heat,  we  reproduce  the  entire  series.  As  the  first  obser- 
vation corresponds  to  the  first  reproduced  idea,  both  notions 
unite  into  a  single  one.  If  the  next  members  of  the  series 
receive  a  like  confirmation  by  observation  of  the  occurrence 
of  nature,  the  process  will  each  time  take  place.  The  con- 
sequence of  this  is,  that  the  foremost  members  of  the  series 
acquire  force.  By  this  means  the  unfolding  of  the  older 
series  is  accelerated^  and  the  pressure  of  its  individual  mem- 
bers to  unite  with  the  corresponding  one  of  the  new  series 

1  Conditions  of  feeling  are  produced  only  when  the  association  of 
ideas  is  abnormal,  entirely  different  from  the  ordinary. 


28  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

grows  from  series  to  series.  Reproduction,  which  has  been 
greatly  strengthened  and  assisted  by  the  newly  offered, 
now  anticipates  what  is  to  come,  and  represents  to  us  as 
already  present  the  final  member  of  the  observation  yet  to 
be  made.  It  is  presupposed  that  the  fact  will  also  agree 
with  the  reproduced  final  member,  just  as,  for  example,  the 
first  two  members  of  the  observation  agreed  with  the  first 
two  members  of  the  reproduced  series.  But  the  concept 
series  unfolds  much  more  rapidly  than  the  occurrences  and 
their  observation ;  we  have  already  arrived  in  our  thought 
at  the  final  link  of  the  older  series  and  of  the  newer  obser- 
vations, while  perception,  on  the  other  hand,  has  proceeded 
no  farther  perhaps  than  the  approach  of  the  shower.  This 
throws  us  back  upon  the  reproduced  concept  (3)  again.  In 
the  mean  time,  before  the  observation  corresponding  to  the 
old  link  (4)  takes  place,  we  have  arrived  with  our  thought 
at  the  final  link  of  the  observation  and  must  again  return  to 
link  (4).  We  are  in  the  first  stage  of  expectation,  in  that 
of  suspense.  Upon  the  latter  follows  the  solution.  If  the 
last  observation  agrees  with  the  final  link  in  the  reproduced 
series,  this  has  no  longer  any  obstacle  to  overcome.  The 
concept  formed  by  the  observation  unites  with  the  repro- 
duced concept  (5),  and  the  strengthened  concept  rises  un- 
hindered. We  have  the  feeling  of  satisfaction.  But  if  the 
clouds  are  suddenly  dispersed  before  the  rain  has  fallen,  the 
cojicept  thus  unavoidably  forced  upon  the  mind  comes  into 
conflict  with  the  reproduced  opposing  one.  The  feeling  of 
this  check  is  the  feeling  of  disappointment. 

2.  A  person  in  distress  applies  for  aid  to  a  wealthy  man, 
to  whom  poverty  has  remained  entirely  unknown.  The 
latter  is  not  inclined  to  yield  to  the  request ;  thereupon  the 
suppliant  pictures  to  him  his  poverty  with  all  its  unattrac- 
tiveness.  But  the  rich  man  cannot  put  himself  into  the 
place  of  the  poor  man,  he  does  not  know  how  he  feels,  be- 


PSYCHOLOGICAL   BASIS.  29 

cause  he  lacks  the  necessary  ideas ;  he  turns  him  off.  Next 
door  lives  a  man  who  has  achieved  success  from  the  most 
humble  beginnings.  The  poor  man  here  prefers  the  same 
request  accompanied  by  the  same  description.  This  arouses 
in  the  mind  of  the  rich  man  all  those  images  that  the  op- 
pressive feeling  of  poverty  formerly  produced  in  himself, 
and  which  now  disturbs  the  mind  of  the  suppliant.  The 
rich  man  puts  himself  into  the  situation  of  the  poor  man. 
He  reproduces  in  himself  the  mental  condition  of  the  other. 
This  condition  can  arise,  for  example,  on  the  one  hand,  out 
of  the  ideas  of  the  necessity  of  eating  and  drinking,  of 
clothing,  and  on  the  other  hand,  out  of  the  ideas  which  have 
reference  to  the  impossibility  of  satisfying  these  necessities. 
This  arresting  of  concepts  the  rich  man  feels  likewise ;  he 
sympathizes  with  the  suppliant,  providing  he  does  not  forci- 
bly suppress  the  emotion,  and  acts  accordingly.  Sympathy, 
therefore,  is  the  copying  or  reproducing  of  a  mental  condi- 
tion, which  results  from  the  interaction  within  a  concept- 
range  of  definite  content ;  it  is  a  qualitative  feeling.  He 
who  has  not  approximately  those  concepts  which  disturb 
the  soul  of  a  sufferer,  cannot  sympathize  with  him. 

As  to  their  content,  according  as  they  have  reference  to 
truth,  beauty,  morality  or  religion,  the  qualitative  feelings 
are  grouped  into  intellectual,  esthetic,  moral  and  religious 
feelings.     Sympathy  belongs  to  the  moral  feelings. 

Since  feeling  is  not  a  separate  soul  faculty,  but  results 
from  the  interaction  of  concepts,  it  follows,  tliat  every  in- 
fluence upon  the  feeling  must  pass  by  way  of  the  thought- 
realm. 

We  have  mentioned  the  desires  as  the  second  kind  of  soul 
conditions ;  that  these  also  rest  upon  the  interaction  of  con- 
cepts may  be  seen  from  the  following. 

A  child  has  acquired  a  concept  of  candy.    This  concept  is 


30  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF   HERBAliT. 

composed  chiefly  of  two  ideas,  which  are  the  result  of  s'ght 
and  taste  sensations.  The  child,  passing  the  show-window 
of  a  confectionery  shop,  is  attracted  by  the  sight  of  the  jars 
of  candy  there  exposed;  the  taste  concept,  which  was  ac- 
quired simultaneously  with  that  of  sight,  is  reproduced  by 
the  latter.  The  taste  concept  is  now  more  obscure  than  at 
the  time  of  its  acquisition,  and  it  struggles  constantly  to 
attain  greater  clearness.  But  this  desired  clearness  can  be 
attained  only  by  the  renewed  tasting  of  candy.  There  ex- 
ists an  obstacle,  therefore,  which  is  in  the  way  of  the  rising 
of  the  concept  to  full  clearness.  The  longer  the  child  re- 
mains standing  before  the  show-window,  the  more  rigorously 
the  rising  concept  struggles  against  the  obstacle,  of  which 
the  child  is  conscious.  The  taste  concept  of  the  candy  is  in 
the  condition  of  desire.  The  desire  is  the  becoming  con- 
scious of  an  effort  of  a  concept  to  overcome  its  obstacles 
existing  in  consciousness.^  The  child  desires  the  candy,  in 
order  to  bring  the  concept  in  his  mind  to  complete  clearness. 
The  real  object  of  the  desire  is,  therefore,  not  the  candy,  but 
the  taste  concept  in  question ;  the  candy  is  desired  only  as 
a  means  to  an  end,  as  an  external  means  to  an  internal  con- 
dition. To  the  objection,  that  if  only  concepts  were  de- 
sired, it  were  inconceivable  why  so  many  desires  remain 
unsatisfied,  we  reply,  that  if  objects  were  desired,  no  desire 
could  be  satisfied,  since  no  object  as  such  can  enter  the  soul. 
'''  But  the  contradiction,  that  we  already  possess  the  concept 
which  we  yet  desire,  finds  its  solution  in  the  fact,  that  we 
do  not  possess  the  concept  in  the  manner  in  which  we  desire 
it,  that  we  have  as  a  mere  reproduction  what  we  desire  as  a 


^  Desire  is  distinguished  from  feeling  in  that  it  does  not,  like  the 
latter,  indicate  a  single  momentary  condition  of  thought,  but  a  pass- 
ing through  several  such  conditions,  i.e.,  a  movement.  Single  cross- 
sections  of  this  movement  are  feelings. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  BASIS.  31 

sensation,  or  that  we  possess  the  concepts  obscurely,  which 
we  desire  to  possess  clearly." 

A  hungry  person  desires  the  sensation  of  satisfaction  by 
means  of  bread,  and  a  thirsty  one  the  quenching  of  thirst 
by  means  of  water.  In  the  case  of  the  child  above  referred 
to,  therefore,  desire  is  satisfied,  if  the  desired  concept  has- 
come  to  full  clearness,  that  is,  when  the  rising  of  the  concept 
in  question  is  facilitated  by  the  tasting  of  candy.  A  desire- 
has,  like  a  feeling,  two  principal  stages,  the  suspense  and 
its  solution.  The  suspense  is  greatest  just  before  the  act  of 
satisfying,  just  as  the  thirsty  person  has  the  strongest  de-. 
sire  for  satisfaction  when  he  puts  the  cup  to  the  lips. 

Since  desire  is  based  upon  the  interaction  of  ideas,  it  fol- 
lows that  no  one  can  desire  a  thing  of  which  he  has  no  idea^ 
A  kind  of  food  hitherto  unknown  to  us  we  can  desire  only 
in  so  far  as  we  take  for  granted  that  it  will  assist  in  bring- 
ing into  perfect  clearness  certain  taste  concepts  which  we. 
already  possess. 

But  desire  must  not  be  confused  with  the  will.  Every- 
act  of  willing  is  indeed  a  desire,  but  not  vice  versa.  Tha 
child  before  the  show-window  has  no  money  for  the  acquisi- 
tion of  the  candy;  neither  does  he  know  of  any  other  way 
to  gain  possession  of  it ;  it  seems  impossible  for  him  to  ob- 
tain it.  Here  the  desire  appears  only  in  the  form  of  wish. 
The  state  of  the  case  may  be  otherwise.  The  child  knows- 
that  for  money  candy  is  to  be  had ;  money  he  will  obtain  of 
his  mother  for  some  service  about  the  house ;  in  order  to  do 
this  service,  he  must  go  home.  In  the  child  the  following 
series  takes  form,  leading  up  to  the  acquisition  of  the  candy ; 
1.  To  go  home.  2.  To  perform  a  service.  3.  To  ask  mother 
for  a  reward  in  money.  4.  To  buy  the  candy.  While  tliis 
causal  series  comes  to  the  aid  of  the  desire,  volition  springs 
from  it.  To  will,  therefore,  is  to  desire  something  with  the 
conviction  that  it  may  be  attained.     He  who  says,  I  tvill, 


32  THE   PEDAGOGY  OF   HERB ART. 

has  already  in  thought  conquered  the  future  thing;  he  sr'es 
himself  achieving,  possessing,  enjoying.  Show  him  that  he 
cannot,  —  and  he  wills  no  longer,  as  soon  as  he  comprehends 
you.  The  desire  may  perhaps  remain,  and  rage  with  im- 
petuosity, or  endeavor  to  succeed  with  the  utmost  crafti- 
ness. In  this  endeavor  lies  again  a  new  volition,  no  longer 
relating  directly  to  the  object,  but  to  the  movements  that 
one  makes,  accompanied  by  the  knowledge  that  one  can 
control  them,  and  may  by  means  of  them  secure  his  object. 
The  general  desires  to  conquer,  and  therefore  wills  the  ma- 
neuver of  his  troops.  He  would  not  will  these,  did  he  not 
know  the  force  of  his  command. 

Whether  a  desire  is  to  pass  into  a  volition  depends  also 
upon  the  insight  into  the  attainableness  of  the  desired  ob- 
ject. But  the  thing  desired  need  not  really  be  attainable ; 
it  need  only  seem  to  us  attainable,  in  order  that  the  desire 
shall  become  a  volition.  The  injudicious  child  wills  whei*e 
the  adult  only  desires.  The  inexperienced  youth  wills  far 
more  than  the  man  who  has  tested  his  powers  repeatedly  in 
the  attainableness  of  the  things  desired.  Napoleon  willed 
as  Emperor  and  desired  as  a  prisoner  at  St.  Helena. 


Upon  our  course  hitherto  we  have  met  nothing  which 
could  argue  against  the  correctness  of  the  Herbartian  psy- 
chology. But  whatever  result  advancing  experiment  and 
study  may  reach,  so  much  will  always  remain  certain,  that 
feeling  and  will  can  be  determined  only  by  the  culture  of 
the  concept  life,  if  a  determination  is  at  all  possible.  If  the 
latter  is  not  the  case,  there  can  be  no  pedagogy ;  but  if  it  is 
the  case,  then  do  the  doctrines  of  the  pedagogy  of  Herbart 
and  his  school  hold  true,  even  where  another  opinion  is  held 
as  to  the  nature  of  the  soul. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL   BASIS.  33 


Queries. 

1.  Does  the  law  of  the  conservation  of  energy  apply  in  the  trans- 
mission of  the  nerve  excitation  to  the  soul  ?  How  is  such  transmis- 
sion to  be  explained  ? 

2.  Can  the  original  vacuity  (absence  of  content)  of  the  soul  be 
demonstrated  empirically  ?    Logically  ? 

3.  What  soul-content  has  the  child  possibly  acquired  before  birth  ? 

4.  About  when  does  the  acquisition  of  absolutely  new  simple  ideas 
cease  ? 

5.  What  is  the  most  important  factor  with  respect  to  capacity  ? 

6.  Why  is  it  absurd  to  assume  capacities  which  are  supposed  to 
have  their  basis  in  the  nature  of  the  soul  ? 

7.  How  do  the  notions  of  space  and  time  arise  ? 

8.  Which  phenomena  are  best  adapted  to  aid  in  the  demonstration 
of  the  fact  that  there  are  fixed  laws  in  the  mental  life  ?  What  proc- 
ess seems  to  lack  conformity  to  law  ? 

9.  What  significance  has  the  narrowness  of  consciousness  for  the 
judging  of  the  nature  of  the  soul  ? 

10.  How  may  the  arresting  and  promoting  of  ideas  be  made  more 
clear  by  means  of  illustrations  ?     How  may  they  be  explained  ? 

11.  With  what  right  may  it  be  asserted  that  there  are  not  four  but 
only  two  laws  of  reproduction  ? 

12.  How  is  it  that  a  concept  series  may  be  reproduced  forward 
better  than  backward  ? 

13.  Is  there  for  the  development  of  the  intellect  a  very  special  point 
of  beginning  ? 

14.  In  what  relation  does  the  intellect  stand  to  imagination  ? 

15.  What  significance  has  language  for  appei'ception  ? 

16.  What  reasons  may  be  adduced  against  the  distinction  between 
qualitative  and  formal  feelings  ?     What  reasons  for  ? 

17.  How  may  voluntary  attention  be  explained  as  a  mere  condition 
of  the  concepts  ? 

18.  In  what  way  has  the  assumption  of  mental  faculties  probably 
been  arrived  at  ? 


PART   II. 

ETHICAL  BASIS.     THE  FIVE   ETHICAL   IDEAS. 

Ethics,  or  moral  philosophy,  is  the  science  of  good  and 
evil.  It  gives  us  directions  as  to  how  we  must  arrange  our 
conduct,  and  is  therefore  called  practical  philosophy.  Theo- 
retical philosophy  does  not  discuss  what  should  be  done 
or  left  undone.  In  the  case  of  the  will,  for  instance,  it 
investigates  only  how  it  proceeds  from  ideas,  what  it  is; 
to  judge  whether  it  be  good  or  bad,  whether  it  ought  to  be 
or  ought  not  to  be,  belongs  to  the  province  of  practical 
philosophy. 

When  we  consider  the  actions  of  men,  we  find  some  that  are 
praiseworthy  and  some  that  deserve  censui*e  ;  or  some  good 
and  some  bad.  Again,  there  are  occurrences  in  the  presence 
of  which  our  judgment  as  to  whether  these  are  good  or  bad  is 
not  aroused  at  all.  If  a  person  in  a  somnambulant,  therefore 
unconscious,  condition  commits  homicide,  we  cannot  accuse 
him  of  a  bad  action,  even  though  the  misfortune  should  touch 
us  closely.  If  a  woodchopper's  axe  unexpectedly  flies  from 
its  helve  and  kills  a  human  being  near  by,  it  does  not  occur 
to  us  to  declare  the  man  a  criminal,  since  the  accident 
has  happened  without  (contrary  to)  his  will.  If  a  rich 
man  throws  away  a  pair  of  shoes  that  might  still  be  service- 
able, and  a  poor  man  picks  them  up  and  is  pleased  with 
them,  we  do  not  attribute  any  praise  to  the  former,  because 
without  his  will  the  poor  man  has  received  a  kindness. 
From  these  illustrations  it  follows  that  what  is  done  without 

34 


ETHICAL  BASIS.  35 

consciousness  and  without  (contrary  to)  will  is  neither  good 
nor  bad,  neither  praiseworthy  nor  censurable,  but  in  the 
ethical  sense,  indifferent.  This  does  not,  however,  prevent 
its  being  personally  very  agreeable  or  very  unpleasant;  to  us. 

If  an  action  is  done  with  consciousness  and  will,  it  is 
subject  to  the  ethical  judgment,  but  this  judgment  is  astir 
also  when  we  merely  recognize  a  bad  or  a  good  will.  We 
disapprove  when  a  person  has  the  will  to  harm  another ; 
we  praise  him  who  is  willing  to  help  an  oppressed  fellow- 
man.  The  corresponding  action  (so  far  as  we  are  able  to 
recognize  the  will  without  it)  is  unessential  for  the  judg- 
ing; it  is  inherent  in  our  notion  of  will  that  it  pass  over 
into  action  whenever  this  is  possible.  For  a  will  which, 
though  it  might  act,  yet  rests  contented  in  mere  desire,  can- 
not strictly  be  called  a  will.  The  worth  of  the  will  in 
a  strict  sense  cannot  depend  upon  what  it  executes,  for 
whether  it  acts  or  not  does  not  depend  upon  itself  merely, 
but  also  upon  external  conditions.  If  by  the  greatest  efforts 
of  the  will,  nothing  were  accomplished  and  only  the  good 
will  should  remain,  it  would  nevertheless  like  a  jewel 
shine  for  itself,  as  something  which  has  intrinsic  value. 
Therefore  not  the  action  but  the  will  is  the  real  object  of 
ethical  valuation. 

When  Christ  was  tempted,  though  he  knew  and  thought 
the  evil,  he  had  no  pleasure  in  it,  willed  it  not ;  when  Eve 
stood  before  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  she 
likewise  knew  and  thought  the  evil,  but  she  willed  it  also. 
Christ  remains  free  from  censure.  Eve  is  subject  to  it, 
though  both  thought  the  evil.  Hence  it  follows  that  think- 
ing (representing)  the  evil  is  not  in  itself  reprehensible, 
but  only  the  will  itself.  Dives  in  the  Gospel  certainly  knew 
and  thought  the  gool  when  he  saw  the  poor  man  lie  before 
his  door,  but  he  did  not  devote  himself  to  it,  he  did  not 
will  it.     Therefore  no  one  accounted  to  him  this  thinking 


36  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

(representing)  of  the  good  as  something  praiseworthy. 
Therefore  not  the  representing  of  the  good  is  pi'aise- 
worthy,  but  only  the  will.  It  is  only  to  the  will  and  that 
which  tends  toward  the  will,  as,  for  instance,  feelings,  incli- 
nations and  desires,  that  we  attach  intrinsic  value  or  the 
absence  of  it.  These  are  also  meant  when  the  Bible  speaks 
of  the  reprehensibleness  of  bad  thoughts. 

Ordinary  usage  designates  as  good  many  other  things 
besides  the  good  will ;  for  instance,  intellect  and  courage, 
wealth,  power,  honor,  etc. ;  but  all  these  things  can  also 
exert  a  very  bad  influence,  when  the  will  which  should 
make  use  of  them  is  not  good.  For  there  have  been  many 
intelligent,  courageous  and  mighty  villains.  As  a  result  of 
our  discussion  we  reach  the  famous  proposition  of  Kant : 
"  Nothing  can  be  thought  of  anywhere  in  the  world,  or 
even  beyond  it,  which  without  qualification  can  be  regarded 
as  good,  except  the  good  will ! " 

Between  good  and  bad  there  exists  an  irreconcilable 
opposition ;  what  is  bad  cannot  at  the  same  time  be  good, 
and  vice  versa.  When  a  person  robs  a  rich  man,  he  cannot 
make  this  evil  deed  (as  the  expression  of  an  evil  will)  good 
by  bestowing  the  stolen  money  upon  some  needy  person. 
The  well-known  proposition  that  the  end  sanctifies,  or  makes 
good,  the  means,  though  they  may  in  themselves  be  bad,  is 
therefore  false.  But  though  there  exists  this  irreconcilable 
opposition  between  good  and  evil,  it  does  not  follow  that  a 
human  being  with  bad  traits  of  character  can  therefore  have 
no  good  ones  at  all.  For  a  person's  character  is  of  a  com- 
posite nature,  and  permits  therefore  a  mixture  of  good  and 
of  bad  traits.  But  each  individual  trait  admits  of  but  one 
predicate.  Because  evil  stands  in  opposition  to  good,  it 
cannot  be  the  beginning  of  good,  nor  is  it  a  mere  lack  of 
good,  as,  for  instance,  cold  is  a  lack  of  warmth. 

In  general   there  are   two   motives   that  determine  the 


ETHICAL  BASIS.  37 

volitions  of  men.  Jacob  fed  hungry  Esau,  because  in  so 
doing  he  had  an  advantage  in  view ;  the  Samaritan  bound 
up  and  took  care  of  him  who  had  fallen  among  thieves, 
without  considering  any  personal  advantage.  The  former 
had  a  material  interest  in  the  course  he  entered  upon,  the 
latter  was  disinterested ;  the  former  had  himself  in  view, 
the  latter  was  unselfish.  These  examples  represent  the 
two  kinds  of  will-motives. 

Let  us  consider  volition  of  the  first  kind.  Here  the  ques- 
tion is  always:  Has  the  willing  pleasant  or  unpleasant, 
useful  or  harmful  consequences  for  him  from  whom  it 
proceeds  ?  The  volition  is  therefore  valued  not  for  itself, 
but  only  for  the  sake  of  what  may  be  secured  by  means 
of  it ;  it  is  therefore  mediate.  If  a  will  chooses  only  with 
reference  to  what  is  pleasant  or  useful,  it  occupies  the 
standpoint  of  eudemonism,  the  doctrine  of  happiness,  or 
well-being.  It  is  eudemonism  to  do  a  good  deed  merely  to 
secure  thereby  a  feeling  of  satisfaction,  as  when  one  seeks 
to  live  in  peace  with  his  fellow-men  because  these  pleasant 
relations  react  favorably  upon  himself.  Such  a  volition  has 
no  ethical  value.  He  also  who  refrains  from  doing  evil  only 
because  he  fears  the  punishment  of  an  avenging  God,  and 
does  the  good,  only  because  he  hopes  to  secure  future 
reward,  is  yet  far  remote  from  true  morality ;  he  has  scarcely 
entered  her  outer  court.  Is  not  the  good  to  be  done  for 
the  sake  of  its  intrinsic  value,  and  does  it  not  cease  at  once 
to  be  morally  good  when  it  emanates  from  other  motives  ? 
In  fact,  whatever  may  be  gained  in  psychological  activity 
by  the  mixing  in  of  divine  authority  with  the  motives  of 
ethical  action,  is  lost  again,  on  the  other  hand,  in  the  purely 
moral  value  of  the  action.  Eudemonism  easily  changes 
into  egotism  ;  this  happens  when,  in  order  to  secure  our 
own  well-being,  we  harm  others.  Since  in  the  case  of 
eudemonism  the  desire  clings  to  a  substance  (matter)  as  a 


38  THE   PEDAGOGY   OF   HEKBART. 

determining  cause  (motive)  of  the  will,  i.e.,  to  an  object 
that  is  to  secure  enjoyment  or  well-being  to  him  who  wills, 
we  may  speak  of  materialism  in  an  ethical  sense,  which  is 
not  to  be  confounded  with  the  materialism  that  denies  the 
existence  of  spirit  in  contradistinction  to  matter. 

A  purely  ethical  volition  is  seen  in  the  second  example 
cited  above  (at  least  so  far  as  we  may  judge  this  volition 
by  the  act).  The  Samaritan  did  not  ask  himself,  "  Shall  I 
derive  any  profit  or  pleasure  from  my  willing  ?  "  He  did 
not  ask  whether  by  means  of  his  kindly  deed  anything 
might  be  obtained  for  himself,  but  he  regarded  the  willing 
per  se  as  something  good,  something  worthy ;  he  did  the 
good  for  the  sake  of  the  good.  To  take  another  example : 
A  son  discovers  that  his  deceased  father  has  harmed  a 
neighbor,  and  restores  to  the  latter  his  loss.  The  act  of 
restitution,  providing  it  is  possible,  is  demanded  by  the 
moral  law,  but  it  becomes  moral  only  when  it  is  done  with 
no  reference  to  the  consequences  that  may  follow  (good 
reputation,  etc.).  For  it  is  not  enough  that  what  is  to  be 
morally  good  shall  be  done  in  accordance  with  the  moral 
law,  but  it  must  also  be  done  for  the  sake  of  the  latter. 

How  then  may  the  marks  of  a  good  will  be  recognized  ? 

It  has  been  said,  that  to  this  end  the  origin  of  every  will 
must  be  investigated.  But  a  good  will  rises  out  of  the 
sphere  of  concepts  in  the  same  manner  as  a  bad  one.  A 
psychologist,  to  whom  the  difference  between  good  and  bad 
was  entirely  unknown,  would  not  by  the  minutest  analysis 
of  the  origin  of  the  will  discover  this  difference.  In  psy- 
chology it  is  just  as  it  is  in  phj^siology  with  reference  to 
disease  and  health,  normal  and  diseased  conditions  of  the 
body.  According  to  physiological  conception  these  phe- 
nomena also  fall  under  the  same  physical  laws,  and  in  the 
explanation  it  is  a  matter  of  the  utmost  indifference,  whether 
the   conditions   to   be   explained  are  normal  or  abnormal. 


ETHICAL  BASIS.  39 

This  is  the  so-called  theoretical  method  of  viewing  things, 
largely  employed,  for  example,  in  judging  the  personality 
of  Rousseau,  where  it  is  taken  into  consideration  that  he 
lived  and  grew  up  in  a  corrupt  society.  His  conduct  is 
conceivable,  explicable,  indeed,  but  not  for  this  reason  justi- 
fiable. 

But  even  if  it  is  thus  insufficient  for  the  ethical  judging  of 
a  will  to  know  how  it  originates,  this  knowledge  becomes 
valuable  in  pedagogy  where  the  formation  of  a  good  or  a  bad 
will  is  concerned.  The  teacher  must  know  upon  what  fac- 
tors the  formation  of  a  good  or  a  bad  will  depends,  if  he 
would  not  leave  it  to  chance  whether  he  employs  the  right 
means  in  education. 

Different  from  the  physiological  method,  and  yet  belong- 
ing to  the  theoretical  method  of  viewing  problems,  is  cosmic 
or  cosmological  ethics.  Its  representatives  proceed  from 
the  proposition  that  our  will  is  a  part  of  the  universe  and 
must  seek  its  norm  in  the  universal  cosmic  reason,  in  the 
cosmic  order.  To  live  well  means,  in  this  sense,  to  live  so 
as  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  universal  cosmic  order,  i.e., 
such  order  as  is  suitable  for  the  existence  of  the  entire 
social  order.  In  that  case  again  the  good  is  done  not  for 
its  own  sake,  but  because  it  seems  expedient.  But  this  is 
again  eudemonism. 

Similar  to  this  is  that  view  which  proceeds,  not  from  the 
cosmic  whole,  but  from  the  nature  of  the  individual,  and 
then  says  with  Rousseau :  That  is  good  which  is  in  accord 
with  human  nature.  But  then  all  acts  are  performed  for 
the  sake  of  human  natu4:e,  i.e.,  because  they  are  useful  (not 
as  it  should  be,  for  the  sake  of  worthiness),  and  this  is  also 
eudemonism. 

All  these  tendencies  value  the  will  according  to  theoretic 
investigations.  If  this  method  of  valuation  were  the  cor- 
rect one,  then  could  only  he  know  what  is  good  and  what  is 


40  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

evil  who  possessed  an  accurate  insight  into  the  nature  of  the 
will,  of  human  nature,  of  physical  laws,  etc.  How  variously 
must  then  the  same  will  be  judged  from  these  varyin^j 
standpoints !  But  there  is  yet  another,  better  an  I  more 
certain  method  of  valuation,  which  does  not  depend  upon 
theoretic  knowledge.  When  a  criminal  sets  a  house  on  hre, 
our  judgment  does  not  wait  for  a  psychological  or  any  other 
explanation,  but  springs  forth  at  once  in  the  form  of  a  de- 
cided displeasure,  Avhile  every  expression  of  will  springing 
from  the  sentiment  of  love  to  our  neighbor  pleases  at  once. 

The  judgment  as  to  the  w^orthiness  or  uuworthiness  of  a 
will  is  here  an  original  one.  In  little  children  this  judg- 
ment does  not  yet  appear,  because  they  do_  not  know  the 
things  that  are  peii:,^e  base  or  praiseworthy.  But  they  learn 
to  know  them  in  time  through  observation  of  good  and  bad 
actions,  and  as  soon  as  they  have  risen  above  absolute  crude- 
ness  with  respect  to  ethical  deeds,  when  there  is  an  incipient 
moral  attitude,  they  pass  moral  judgments,  providing  they 
are  not  permanently  controlled  by  emotions  and  desires 
that  do  not  permit  quiet  contemplation.  Upon  this  judg- 
ment, original  and  free  from  desire,  ethics  must  be  based. 
The  ethical  judgment  appears  next  in  the  form  of  feeling, 
or  to  express  it  more  exactly,  of  a  total-impression;  one 
"  feels  "  the  laudable  and  the  base.  The  feeling  is,  however, 
often  indefinite,  and  easily  leads  astray.  Therefore  the 
absolute  valuation  must  rise  into  a  logically  formed  and 
clearly  expressed  judgment.  Culture  and  general  theory  of 
life  may  here  be  of  great  influence,  especially  also  the  ap])li- 
cation  of  knowledge  of  the  good  to  human  (social)  relations. 

The  moral  judgment  is  developed  psychologically  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  esthetic  (the  taste)  :  the  former  through 
observation  of  actions  (as  the  manifestations  of  the  will), 
the  latter  through  observation  of  hues,  colors,  etc.  This 
circumstance  points  to  a  relation  of  the  two  spheres,  and 


ETHICAL   BASIS.  41 

Herbart  designates  ethics  and  esthetics  (in  the  more  nar- 
row sense)  as  the  esthetic  sciences.  The  term  Esthetics 
applies  in  Herbart's  sense  as  well  to  the  science  of  the 
ethically  beautiful  as  to  that  of  the  beautiful  in  art,  and 
their  opposites.  The  science  of  the  beautiful  in  art  deals 
with  form  and  with  the  relations  of  tones,  lines,  colors,  etc. ; 
it  is  peculiar  to  ethics  to  submit  to  the  judgment  the  rela- 
tions of  the  will.  Just  as  a  single  line  of  color  cannot  by 
itself  be  judged  as  to  beauty  or  its  opposite,  so  also  an  indi- 
vidual will  is  not  judged  for  itself,  but  only  according  to 
the  relation  in  which  it  stands  to  another  will. 

A  will-relation  involves  at  least  two  wills.  These  two 
wills  may  (a)  be  included  in  the  same  person,  or  (&)  be- 
long to  two  different  persons.  In  the  former  case  we  dis- 
tinguish two,  in  the  latter  three,  additional  kinds  of  will- 
relations,  so  that  there  result  five  fundamental  relations  and 
therefore  ^ye  moral  ideas. 

But  are  there  really  two  wills  in  one  person  ?  "We  may 
recall  here,  perhaps,  the  story  of  the  Indian  who  borrowed 
some  tobacco  of  his  neighbor  and  found  in  it  a  gold  coin. 
There  arose  within  him  a  conflict  between  ''  two  men," 
whether  he  should  return  the  money  or  keep  it.  "  It  is  a 
fact  of  inner  experience,  observed  for  thousands  of  years, 
that  we  really  find  in  one  person  two  wills,  of  which  the  one 
commands,  and  the  other  obeys  or  disobeys  "  (Ziller).  These 
wills  often  enter  into  conflict,  as  the  one  often  promises  us 
enjoyment  and  thus  lures  us  on,  while  the  other  warns  us 
and  utters  commands  or  prohibitions.  The  Apostle  Paul 
also  describes  the  conflict  of  these  wills  within  us,  when  he 
says :  "  For  the  flesh  lusteth  against  the  spirit  and  the  spirit 
lusteth  against  the  flesh:  and  these  are  contrary  the  one 
to  the  other."  In  the  older  Greek  story  of  Hercules  at 
the  Cross-Roads  this  soul  conflict  is  embellished  in  poetic 
form. 


42  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

First  Idea. 

The  jiieture  of  an  internal  conflict  is  drawn  for  ns  in  a 
graphic  mauner  by  Gustavus  Scliwab  in  the  poem  "Johan- 
nes Kant." 

The  doctor  of  theology  at  Krakau  on  a  journey  to  his 
Silesian  home  is  surprised  by  highwaymen.  Anticipating 
the  demand  of  the  robbers,  he  offers  them  his  well-tilled 
purse  and  various  valuables. 

"  Gav'st  thou  thine  all  ?  "  they  bellowing  say, 
"  Bear'st  secretly  nought  in  boot  or  in  belt  ?  " 
Death-terror  swears  from  the  Doctor  :  "Nay." 

When  he  is  alone,  he  examines  his  garment  and  finds  well 
secreted  his  golden  savings.   A  joyous  feeling  comes  over  him. 

With  all  the  gold  his  home  is  safely  reached, 

He  may  by  God's  great  goodness  rest  from  fright,  — 

When  sudden  still  he  stopped,  for  in  him  cried 

With  clam'rous  din  the  dread  Imperative :  — 

"  Lie  not,  lie  not,  Kant.     Yet  thou  hast  lied." 

At  once  he  returns,  seeks  out  the  robbers  and  offers  them 
the  concealed  sum. 

Since  none  will  take,  he  penitently  cried: 
"  Oh,  take,  this  have  I  ill  denied  ! " 

The  law-giving  will  here  made  a  demand,  and  the  other 
will  submitted  to  it,  obeyed;  it  liberated  itself  from  the 
bondage  of  the  material  advantage.  Pilate  acted  in  a  totally 
different  manner ;  he  did  not  heed  the  inner  command,  but 
condemned  Christ ;  his  will  was  not  free  to  follow  the  law- 
giving will,  but  was  bound  through  fear  of  man.  When  a  will 
obeys  the  law-giving  will  (discernment),  it  receives  praise  ; 
when  it  disobeys,  it  suifers  censure.  The  idea  of  the  coin- 
cidence of  our  will  with  our  law-giving  will  (discernment) 


ETHICAL  BASIS.  43 

is  called  the  idea  of  the  Inner  Freedom.  Our  moral 
(inner)  freedom  does  not  consist  in  the  fact  that  we  can 
also  do  the  evil,  but  in  the  fact  that  we  surrender  uncondi- 
tionally to  the  law-giving  will.  By  inner  freedom  we  do 
not  mean  self-determination  of  the  will,  but  that  independ- 
ence of  the  same  from  sensual  desires  which  is  connected 
with  the  dependence  upon  moral  motives.  The  will  becomes 
free  when  it  breaks  loose  from  the  yoke  of  the  desires,  in 
order  henceforth  to  surrender  to  the  good  and  its  service. 

Obedient  felt  I  e'er  my  soul  to  be 

Most  beautifully  free.  — Goethe,  Iphigenia. 

The  Conviction  to  which  one  ought  to  submit  in  obedi- 
ence must  also  be  a  worthy  one ;  it  must  not  be  made  a 
motive  through  any  haphazard  concept-group,  or  through 
any  principle,  purpose  or  plan,  which  rests  upon  a  mere 
opinion,  wish  or  desire.  We  are  truly  free,  not  when  we 
merely  will,  but  only  when  we  will  the  right.  In  this  sense 
we  are  to  understand  the  words  of  Christ :  '•'  The  truth 
shall  make  you  free."  But  what  is  the  form  of  the  judg- 
ment, when  a  person  has  not  yet  become  acquainted  witli 
the  ideal  ?  In  that  case  there  is  absolute  barbarity  of 
mind,  utter  absence  of  morality  ;  such  a  person  lacks  a 
criterion  by  which  to  measiire  his  willing  and  his  acting,  he 
has  no  prototype  which  he  should  imitate.  So  it  is  in  one 
period  of  childhood  ;  such  is  largely  the  condition  of  tribes 
of  a  low  degree  of  culture  ;  so  it  is  occasionally  among  us 
in  the  case  of  adults  whose  education  has  been  totally  neg- 
lected, or  purposely  misdirected.  Such  persons  stand  beneath 
the  line  of  moral  valuation,  or  to  use  a  winged  word,  they 
are  beneath  all  criticism.  But  how  does  this  comport  with 
childish  innocence  ?  Innocence  does  not  belong  to  moral  free- 
dom, since  the  latter  demands  discernment.  The  child  ob:\ys 
without  judgment;  but  as  he  yields  to  the  external  will  (of 


44  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

the  parent),  lie  learns  also  to  yield  to  the  law-giving  will,  as 
soon  as  this  makes  its  appearance.  Childish  innocence  is 
therefore  only  a  point  of  departure  from  which  the  human  be- 
ing can  arrive  at  moral  liberty  when  his  judgment  appears, 
and  to  which  he  actually  attains  if  he  follows  his  discernment. 
The  ideal  of  the  will  can  also  be  expressed  by  means  of  a 
law.  He  who  assumes  the  ethical  standpoint  obeys  tliis 
law,  not  merely  because  it  is  a  law  which  may  not  be  vio- 
lated (such  conduct  would  be  only  conformable  to  law, 
legal ;  but  legality  is  also  only  a  first  step  to  inner  free- 
dom), but  because  obedience  to  the  law  is  good  in  itself. 

Secoxd  Idea. 

The  harmony  of  the  will  with  the  discernment  pleases. 
Eeuben,  when  he  willed  to  save  Joseph,  submitted  to  the 
discernment,  which  his  brethren  refused  to  do ;  therefore 
we  must  praise  the  former  and  blame  the  latter.  Eeuben 
acted  in  accordance  with  inner  freedom,  and  yet  there  rests 
a  stain  upon  him.  He  had  not  the  necessary  force  of  will 
to  oppose  his  brethren  openly ;  this  want  of  energy  of  will 
we  must  censure.  Quite  differently  appears  the  Apostle 
Paid ;  he  not  only  brings  his  will  into  conformity  with 
his  discernment  that  to  the  heathen  the  Gospel  must  be 
preached,  but  he  manifests  an  extremely  energetic,  never- 
tiring  will.  He  is  "  ever  on  the  passage,"  he  has  only  the 
one  thought,  that  the  word  should  run,  and  the  longer 
it  does  so  the  more  grows  in  him  the  will  to  press  farther 
and  ever  farther  forward  to  those  who  still  sit  in  darkness. 
He  climbs  the  snowy  heights  of  Taurus,  when  drawn  into 
the  valleys  of  Lycaonia;  he  wanders  as  far  as  the  J5gean  Sea, 
when  he  hears  in  a  vision  the  Macedonian  call :  "  Come 
over  and  help  us."  When  he  comes  to  Corinth,  lo,  ships 
are  sailing  for  Italy !     And  at  once  he  writes  to  Kome,  how 


ETHICAL   BASIS.  45 

he  is  at  all  times  praying  that  it  might  sometime  be  possiljlf^ 
for  him,  with  God's  help,  to  go  to  the  Eomans.  Prom  be- 
yond the  sea  voices  are  calling  to  him,  "  Come,"  and  in  the 
hours  of  solitude  his  thoughts  are  occupied  with  "those 
that  have  not  yet  heard."  This  "  on,  on,"  is  the  real  motto 
of  hie  life.  But  what  is  in  this  case  the  nature  of  the  will- 
relation  ?  The  obeying  or  aspiring  will  seeks  to  reach  the 
law-giving  will  in  point  of  strength.  If  we  indicate  the 
strength  of  the  law-giving  will  by  5,  that  of  the  aspiring 
will  by  1,  then  is  the  latter  weaker  than  the  former;  but 
when  it  reaches  the  steps  2,  3,  4  and  5,  its  strength  is 
finally  equal  to  that  of  the  law-giving  will.  Now  the  law- 
giving will  moves  higher  up  to  step  6,  and  the  aspiring  will 
increases  in  strength  by  1,  etc.  As  the  law-giving  will 
moves  ever  upward,  the  aspiring  will  can  constantly  in- 
crease in  strength,  and  as  the  upward  movement  of  the 
growth  of  the  lav.'-giving  will  has  no  end,  so,  too^  there  is  no 
limit  of  strength  for  the  obeying  will.  The  will  seeks  to 
attain  complete  strength,  or  to  become  perfect.  So  it  was 
with  Paul.  He  acted  in  accordance  with  the  idea  of  per- 
fection, or  efficiency  of  will. 

This  perfection  of  which  we  speak  in  ethics  is  not  to  be 
confused  with  perfection  in  the  popular  sense,  as  the  sum 
total  of  all  the  completed  virtues. 

These  two  ideas  of  Perfection  and  of  Inner  Freedom  do 
not  necessarily  by  themselves  alone  lead  to  moral  volition. 
The  idea  of  Inner  Preedom  demands  coincidence  of  volition 
with  judgment.  But  when  the  judgment  errs  in  that  which 
it  regards  as  right  and  good,  then  will  also  the  will  that 
harmonizes  with  it  take  a  false  course;  thus  we  see,  for 
example,  many  barbarous  tribes  offering  to  their  idols  hu- 
man sacrifices,  because  they  regard  this  as  something  praise- 
worthy. The  strong  will,  too,  maybe  immoral.  Both  ideas 
have  reference  to  the  form  of  moral  actions,  and  may 
be  called  formal  ideas. 


46  THE  PEDAGOGY   OF   HERBART. 

We  must  therefore  seek  for  additional  ethical  ideas,  and 
thus  we  meet  with  the  notion  of  volitional  relations  between 
two  different  persons.  One  will  A  can  direct  itself  toward 
another  will  B,  in  order  to  imitate  and  strive  to  equal  it  in 
strength.  But  this  is  merely  repeating  again  the  discussion 
according  to  the  ideas  of  Inner  Freedom  and  of  Perfection, 
only  with  this  difference,  that  now  the  wills  are  distributed 
between  two  persons,  whereas  in  the  former  case  they  were 
included  in  the  same  person.  We  have  in  the  following  case 
a  really  new  will-relation : 

Third  Idea. 

A  wealthy  man  knows  of  the  struggle  of  an  indigent 
young  man  to  get  an  education;  he  desires  that  the  latter 
should  secure  his  aim  ;  every  successful  examination  fills  him 
with  joy,  every  less  satisfactory  one,  with  anxiety  ;  he  assists 
hiui  pecuniarily  in  order  to  bring  him  nearer  his  object,  and 
rejoices  at  last,  when  he  attains  it.  Why  does  the  rich 
man  entertain  such  a  disposition  toward  his  protege  ?  Not 
because  it  might  bring  him  profit.  If  it  really  brings  him 
profit  (the  reputation  of  benevolence),  it  is  a  matter  of  in- 
difference with  respect  to  his  disposition  ;  the  latter  would 
exist,  even  if  there  were  no  advantage;  it  would  not  dis- 
appear even  though  his  benevolent  action  were  represented 
as  the  result  of  ambition.  A  case  of  pure,  disinterested 
surrender  to  the  good  of  others  we  find  especially  in  Pes- 
t.dozzi.  How  eager  he  was  for  the  welfare  of  neglected 
childhood  is  well  known.  "  In  order  to  help  those  op- 
pressed and  in  trouble,  no  sacrifice  Avas  too  great  for  him, 
nothing  too  costly,  for  he  sought  not  his  own  advantage. 
Often  he  shared  with  the  poor  his  last  florin  ;  gave  a  beggar 
even  the  silver  buckles  off  his  shoes  and  fastened  his  own 
together  with  straw ;  he  went  to  Neufchatel  to  call  ou  the 


ETHICAL   BASIS.  47 

King  of  Prussia,  in  order  to  win  him  for  his  ideas,  though 
he  was  very  ill  and  fainted  repeatedly  on  the  way."  He 
was,  as  we  read  on  his  tomb,  "Everything  for  others,  for 
himself  nothing."  This  disinterested,  nnseltish  surrender 
to  a  foreign  will,  with  the  aim  to  promote  it,  pleases  un- 
conditionally. But  the  case  may  also  be  found  reversed. 
A  pupil,  e.g.,  knows  that  his  neighbor  is  striving  to  win  the 
approval  of  his  teacher,  but  he  begrudges  him  the  attain- 
ment of  this  aim.  Every  good  answer  excites  envy  within 
him,  every  faulty  answer,  joy ;  he  beguiles  him  into  neglect 
of  study,  gives  him  false  information  and  rejoices  the  more, 
the  greater  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  teacher.  Such  a  dis- 
position, which  seeks  to  hinder  a  foreign  will  in  the  attain- 
ment of  its  aim,  or  at  least  rejoices  in  case  of  non-success, 
displeases  unconditionally.  Malevolence  appears  in  its 
ugliest  form  where  a  person  feels  displeasure  at  the  at- 
tainment of  an  aim  by  another,  where  the  former  himself 
neither  can,  nor  desires  to,  reach  it ;  where  he  opposes  the 
attainment,  not  because  he  would  attain  it  himself,  but  only 
in  order  that  the  other  may  not  secure  it.  He  who  gives 
himself  up  to  a  foreign  will  unselfishly,  disinterestedly,  puts 
himself  under  the  Idea  of  Benevolence,  or  Good  Will.  Upon 
this  depends  chiefly  what  we  are  accustomed  to  understand 
by  beauty  of  soul.  This  appears  in  its  purest  form  in 
Christianity.  "  Love  one  another,  as  Christ  has  loved  you." 
"Love  your  enemies  (disposition),  bless  them  that  curse 
you  (expression  of  disposition  by  words,  wishes),  do  good 
to  them  that  hate  you"  (deed). 

Of  great  importance  for  the  development  of  Benevolence 
is  the  culture  of  sympathy,  which  manifests  itself  in  two 
forms,  sympathy  with  suffering  and  sympathy  with  joy.  It 
is  not  less  important  for  Benevolence  than  childish  Inno- 
cence for  Inner  Freedom.  Sympathy  is  developed  o\\\j  in 
the  more  narrow  circles,  and  thus  do  these  become  a  school 


48  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HEUBART. 

of  Benevolence.  In  the  family,  in  the  home,  in  social  inter- 
course, etc..  Benevolence  must  be  learned,  and  thence  it  may- 
be extended  to  wider  circles.  Because  sympathy  is  so  im- 
portant for  the  dawning  life  and  the  success  of  Benevolence, 
we  must  cultivate  tender  feelings  in  children,  even  toward 
objects  without  soul  or  will,  as  plants  and  animals.  Plants 
may  not  carelessly  be  allowed  to  wither  or  be  recklessly  de- 
stroyed; animals  may  not  be  needlessly  tortured,  notwith- 
standing the  fact,  that  they  must  be  content  to  serve  the 
necessary  requirements  of  man.  In  the  interests  of  Benev- 
olence must  children  early  learn  carefully  to  tend  and  to 
nourish  both  plants  and  animals.  Whoever  is  in  this  re- 
spect neglected  and  hence  indifferent  will  prove  also  slack 
and  indifferent  where  Benevolence  is  concerned. 

Fourth  Idea. 

When  two  wills  come  forth  from  themselves,  they  direct 
their  attention  to  the  external  world,  which  is  their  common 
sphere  of  action.  Every  human  being  has  needs,  which  he 
satisfies  with  the  objects  of  the  external  world,  and  it  may 
happen  that  two  wills  casually  direct  themselves  toward  the 
same  object,  desiring  it  at  the  same  time. 

The  shepherds  of  Abraham  and  of  Lot  dwelt  peaceably 
together  so  long  as  the  pasture  was  sufficient  for  their 
flocks.  When  this  was  no  longer  the  case,  the  wills 
of  both  parties  directed  themselves  to  the  same  pastures, 
and  there  resulted  a  strife.  Abraham,  by  means  of  his 
power,  could  have  dislodged  Lot,  but  the  strife  would  not 
have  been  removed  by  this  procedure,  for  Lot  would  have 
continued  to  oppose  secretly.  This  strife  of  wills  dis- 
pleases. It  was  necessary  therefore  to  have  conference  and 
agreement,  in  order  that  the  strife  might  cease.  Abraham 
allowed  Lot  to  choose  a  definite  district,  to  which  in  the 


ETHICAL    BASIS.  49 

future  he  was  to  confine  himself,  but  in  which  he  was  also 
not  to  be  molested.  The  content  of  the  agreement  therefore 
was  to  be  established  as  a  norm  or  rule  for  the  future  con- 
duct of  both  wills.  If  the  one  or  the  other  had  failed  to 
respect  the  established  norm,  if  the  one  or  the  other  had 
driven  his  flocks  beyond  the  established  limits,  the  strife 
would  have  broken  out  afresh.  We  are  not  informed  that 
this  did  take  place  :  each  confined  himself  within  the  estab- 
lished limits,  each  submitted  to  the  Idea  of  Eights. 

"Right  (legal)  is  the  concordance  of  several  wills,  re- 
garded as  a  rule  for  the  prevention  of  strife  "  (Herbart). 

Strife  and  malevolence  differ  from  each  other  in  the 
following  particulars:  In  malevolence  one  will  seek  to  do 
harm  to  another;  it  hates,  injures  and  harms  without  any 
cause;  in  strife  one  will  would  perhaps  not  concern  itself 
about  the  other,  were  it  not  for  the  sake  of  some  object,  in 
the  possession  of  which  the  other  endeavors  to  thwart  him. 

Fifth  Idea. 

When  Christ  had  healed  the  ten  lepers,  one  returned  in 
order  to  express  his  gratitude  for  the  benefit  received,  but 
the  other  nine  accepted  the  benefit  without  showing  them- 
selves appreciative.  The  former  excites  our  approval,  the 
latter  our  censure.  The  will  of  Christ  had  transferred  upon 
the  will  of  the  leper  a  good ;  this  good  returned  again  in 
the  form  of  thanks  upon  the  originator.  The  will  of  Christ 
had  transferred  a  good  also  upon  the  wills  of  the  others,  but 
as  this  will  did  not  return  in  the  form  of  gratitude  upon  the 
originator,  there  was  created  an  incongruence.  Upon  one 
side  there  was  produced  an  excess  of  good.  If  one  will  trans- 
fers upon  another  will  an  ill  (harms  another,  e.g.,  the  honor 
of  another),  our  displeasure  is  also  aroused,  and  this  dis- 
pleasure does  not  vanisli  until  an  excess  of  ill  has  returned 


50  THE   PEDAGOGY   OF    II  [<:;.  UAUT. 

upon  the  originator  (until  he  has  been  punished).  When 
one  person  consciously  renders  to  another  a  good  or  an  ill, 
it  is  fitting  that  the  good  or  ill  should  in  like  measure  re- 
tarn  up;)n  the  will  that  lias  caused  the  iiicon'^naience.  This 
will  shall  be  rewarded  or  piuiislied ;  thus  demands  the  Idea 
of  Justice,  or  Equity. 

While,  as  already  remarked,  the  ideas  of  Inner  Freedom 
and  of  Perfection  are  merely  formal,  we  must  assign  to  the 
ideas  of  Benevolence,  of  Right  and  of  Justice  the  attribute 
"  Substantial."  To  be  more  exact :  There  are  three  universal 
virtues :  Love,  the  sense  of  Right  and  the  sense  of  Justice. 
The  Idea  of  Perfection  indicates  the  measure  of  strength  of 
each  of  the  three  dispositions,  or  virtues.  The  Idea  of  Inner 
Freedom  is  altogether  the  first  presupposition  of  these 
virtues. 

The  five  elementary  ideas  in  their  application  to  larger 
combinations  and  associations  produce  the  derived  ideas. 
Jurisprudence  develops  from  the  idea  of  the  ethically  right 
civil  law;  from  the  idea  of  Justice,  criminal  law.  In  ac- 
cordance with  the  idea  of  Benevolence  every  member  of  any 
considerable  community  must,  for  the  welfare  of  all  members 
of  the  same,  do  his  utmost  to  contribute  to  the  production 
and  proper  administration  of  property  (system  of  economics). 
The  idea  of  Perfection  demands,  that  every  one  contribute 
his  share  to  the  advancement  of  general  culture  (system 
of  civilization).  Inner  Freedom  demands  of  every  member 
of  society  that  he  subordinate  his  personal  will  to  the  total 
will.  If  the  latter  is  governed  by  moral  ideas,  then  is  this 
danand  a  thoroughly  moral  one  and  leads  to  the  idea  of 
animated  society. 

In  the  application  of  these  ideas  to  human  life  there  arises 
another  series  of  ethical  notions :  virtue,  duty,  ethical  good. 
Virtue  is  the  perfect  concordance  of  the  character  Avith  all 
the  ethical  ideas.     What  is  further  designated  by  the  word 


ETHICAL  BASIS.  51 

virtue,  consists  only  of  manifestations  of  this  one  virtue. 
If  a  will  is  not  yet  of  itself  in  accord  with  the  ethical  ideas, 
but  must  first  be  bound  to  them,  there  arise  fj-om  this  rela- 
tion the  notions  of  duty  and  of  law.  For  an  absolutely  holy 
will  there  is  neither  law  nor  duty.  The  ethical  good  is  the 
perfected  organism  of  society,  animated  by  these  ideas,  and 
called  in  the  Bible  :  "  The  Kingdom  of  Heaven." 

The  ethical  ideas  comprise  the  entire  field  of  that  which 
man  ought  to  do  and  to  leave  undone.  All  the  virtues  and 
vices  are  illumined  by  them.  Let  us  glance,  for  example, 
at  lying  in  the  light  of  the  practical  ideas.  Lying  is  a 
transgression  in  the  first  place  against  the  idea  of  Inner 
Freedom,  which  demands  concord  of  disposition,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  word  and  deed  on  the  other;  the  liar  thinks  other- 
wise than  he  speaks.  Lying  displeases  no  less  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  idea  of  Perfection,  for  most  men  lie 
because  they  have  not  courage  enougli,  not  strength  of  will 
enough,  to  tell  the  truth  and  to  stand  by  the  consequences. 
Lying  is  further  not  in  harmony  with  the  idea  of  Benevo- 
lence ;  for  to  lie  to  another,  to  lead  him  astray,  is  evidence 
of  lack  of  love,  maliciousness,  malevolence.  Lying  is  a 
very  fruitful  source  of  strife,  for  in  lying  there  is  a  merely 
illusory  yielding.  The  liar  appears  as  if  he  were  ready  to 
yield  to  the  truth,  but  presently  he  withdraws  this  yielding 
secretly  and  offers  instead  untruth.  This  withdrawing  of 
what  the  other  rightly  expected,  viz.,  the  truth,  becomes, 
as  soon  as  he  discovers  it,  the  occasion  of  strife.  In  lying, 
there  is  also  a  lack  of  equity ;  for  the  confidence  with  which 
one  is  met  ought  to  be  repaid  by  a  corresponding  counter- 
gift,  viz.,  by  truthfulness ;  not  to  repay  the  received  good 
(confidence)  by  an  ill  (deception).  The  social  (derived) 
ideas  are  also  perceptibly  affected  by  the  falsehood. 

It  has  been  largely  asserted  that  ethics  is  not  an  indepen- 
dent science  at  all ;  that  it  is  rooted  and  grounded  in  the 


62  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

science  of  religion.  This  view  must  be  most  emphatically 
denied.  The  relation  between  religion  and  morality,  how- 
ever, is  different.  One  cannot  fail  to  recognize  tint  religion 
has  the  greatest  significance  for  the  germination  and  growth 
of  moral  character.  He  who  does  right  only  from  a  con- 
sideration of  God  and*  the  future  life,  is  still  very  remote 
1  roiu  true  morality,  it  is  true ;  but  he  accustoms  himself  to 
resist  the  impulses  of  the  moment,  to  reflect  and  to  give 
heed  to  ideal  demands ;  he  can  in  time  reach  a  point  where 
he  obeys  the  demands  out  of  respect  for  th;4r  worthiness 
alone.  It  may  in  this  connection  be  very  well  that  in 
reality  he  already  obeys  the  nobler  motives,  while  he  still 
believes  he  is  obeying  the  commands  of  an  almighty  God. 
Just  as  for  the  child  obedience,  resting  on  the  authority  of 
the  teacher  and  the  child's  love  for  him,  is  a  necessary  pre- 
liminary step  toward  genuine  morality,  so,  too,  the  human 
race  as  a  whole  is  led  to  true  morality  only  as  the  commands 
of  the  ideas  are  regarded  as  the  commands  of  a  law-giver 
at  first  feared  beyond  everything,  later  also  loved  beyond 
everything.  With  occasional  exceptions  the  way  to  morality 
passes  only  through  legality. 

But  even  though  man  has  reached  a  higher  stage  of  moral 
development,  he  may  not  dispense  with  the  support  of 
religion.  He  ought  to  will  the  good,  but  a  volition  becomes 
possible  only  when  success  hovers  in  sight;  without  the 
hypothesis  of  success,  there  is  no  energetic,  resolute  acting 
possible  ;  fear  of  failure  paralyzes  energy.  Now,  there  are 
o.ten  circumstances  in  the  presence  of  which  we  should 
despair  of  all  success  of  our  good  endeavor.  And  yet  we 
ought  to  be  energetic !  This  is  possible  only  in  case  we 
believe  in  the  co-operation  of  the  highest  Being,  whose  pur- 
poses and  designs  are  so  arranged  that  ultimately  the  good 
within  us  as  in  society  will  dominate.  Without  religion, 
without  any  fixed  faith  in  Providence,  were  it  only  the 


ETHICAL  BASIS.  53 

indefinite  faith  in  a  world  government,  no  self-conscious 
morality  is  conceivable.  Otlier  points  in  which  religion  is 
of  significance  for  morality,  as,  for  instance,  redemption,  may 
be  omitted  at  this  place. 

Queries. 

1.  What  arguments  may  be  adduced  for  and  against  a  distinction 
between  theoretical  and  practical  philosophy  ? 

2.  What  is  the  siguiiicance,  in  a  religious  point  of  view,  of  regard- 
ing the  loill  alone  as  object  of  moral  valuation  ? 

3.  Is  not  taste  too  fluctuating  to  permit  of  founding  upon  it  a  system 
of  scientific  ethics  ? 

4.  Do  the  moral  ideas  appear  as  controlling  powers  in  the  life  of 
barbaric  tribes  ? 

5.  With  what  arguments  can  the  independence  of  the  idea  of  Inner 
Freedom  be  assailed  or  established  ? 

6.  Do  the  five  ethical  ideas  really  comprise  all  that  man  ought  to 
do  and  to  leave  undone  ? 

7.  What  is  the  relation  between  religion  and  morality,  between 
virtue  and  religiousness  ? 

8.  How  does  the  New  Testament  doctrine  of  reward  comport  with 
the  doctrine  of  disinterested  valuation? 

9.  Why  is  a  moral  aim  on   the   basis    of   Pantheism    logically 
impossible  ? 


PART   III. 
PEDAGOGICAL  APPLICATION. 

The  will,  which  constitutes  the  worth  or  worthlessness  of 
a  human  being,  proceeds  from  the  realm  of  ideas.  It  results 
from  the  concept  life  and  is  influenced  by  it.  An  important 
task  of  education  therefore  is  the  care  of  the  mental,  or  con- 
cept, life.  Ideas  arise  in  the  pupil  even  without  any  pur- 
])Osed  influence  of  the  teacher.  With  a  thousand  charms  the 
sensuous  world  pours  in  upon  the  child.  He  learns  to  know 
household  implements,  objects  of  field  and  garden,  wind  and 
weather,  cold  and  heat ;  he  sees  the  operations  of  the  farmer, 
of  the  mechanic,  of  the  merchant.  To  all  these  things  he 
stands  in  the  relation  of  an  observer ;  they  are  objects  of 
his  experience  furnishing  him  with  knowledge. 

But  the  child  plays  not  only  the  rdle  of  a  mere  observer ; 
he  enters  into  a  definite  relation  with  his  brothers  and 
sisters,  his  playmates;  he  is  sad  with  them,  rejoices  with 
them;  he  also  places  himself  in  a  similar  relation  to  inan- 
imate beings,  by  imagining  them  to  be  animate ;  the  little 
girl  weeps  over  the  sick  doll,  and  comforts  the  broken 
flower.  We  say  the  child  cultivates  intercourse  with  ani- 
mate beings,  real  or  imaginary.  From  social  intercourse, 
there  arises  sympathy  with  other,  especially  human,  beings. 
From  sympathy,  from  interest,  are  evolved  dispositions 
toward  men. 

\  ■  Experience  and  social  intercourse,  these  two  great  school- 
masters of  the  human  race,  show  themselves  effective  even 

54 


PEDAGOGICAL   APPLICATION.  65 

witliout  the  teacher ;  they  beget  knowledge  and  disposition. 
Is  not  in  this  respect  the  teacher  superfluous  ?  We  answer 
this  question  in  the  first  place  with  regard  to  experience. 
The  child  of  a  great  city  acquires  experiences  almost  exclu- 
sively in  this  city ;  he  seldom  visits  the  country.  The 
range  of  his  knowledge  must  therefore  be  very  narrow 
when  he  is  restricted  to  the  experience  that  offers  itself  of 
its  own  accord.  But  would  that  children  had  even  as  much 
experience  as  they  have  opportunity  of  acquiring !  They 
have  eyes  and  see  not,  they  have  ears  and  hear  not.  Of 
three  hundred  six-year-old  primary  pupils  in  the  country,  8 
per  cent  had  seen  no  grain  field,  14  per  cent  no  pond,  30  per 
cent  no  lark,  43  per  cent  no  oak,  14  per  cent  had  not  been 
in  the  woods,  18  per  cent  had  not  been  near  a  brook  or  a 
river,  26  per  cent  had  not  been  upon  any  mountain,  37  per 
cent  could  not  tell  how  bread  is  made  from  grain.  How 
slowly  would  experience  advance,  if  education  did  not  come 
to  its  assistance !  How  fragmentary  and  crude  would  be 
the  knowledge  acquired  without  the  mediation  of  education  ! 
There  would  be  error,  fanaticism  and  all  kinds  of  extrava- 
ginces  to  fear ;  therefore  education  must  direct  experience, 
guide  it  into  the  right  channel,  complete  it  and  shorten  its 
course. 

But  social  intercourse  must  not  fall  under  the  dominion 
of  chance.  What  can  be  the  future  of  a  child  that  perhaps 
does  not  know  his  father  or  is  a  daily  witness  of  most  re- 
pulsive and  disagreeable  family  scenes,  and  spends  the 
greater  part  of  his  childhood  upon  the  street !  In  such 
a  case  dispositions  toward  men  are  also  formed,  alas,  not 
always  desirable  ones.  How  scant  are  often  the  results  of 
intercourse  with  others  even  under  better  circumstances  ! 
How  small  and  narrow  the  conditions  of  ordinary  life  in 
which  man  grows  up !  Therefore  family  and  social  inter- 
course also  requires  the  aid  of  education. 


66  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

Experience  and  intercourse  are  not  to  be  displaced,  but 

supplemented  by  education.     "Who  would  miss,"  says  Her- 

bart,  "  experience  and  intercourse  in  education  ?     It  is  as  if 

one  were  to  dispense  with  the  sun  and  be   content  with 

*  candle-light." 

How  does  education  act  as  a  complement  to  experience  ? 
The  teacher  takes  walks,  makes  excursions,  journeys  with 
his  pupils,  visits  museums  and  collections  of  natural  history; 
he  experiments,  shows  them  copies  (pictures,  models)  of  ob- 
jects and  gives  them  a  picture  of  that  which  cannot  immedi- 
ately be  observed  tlirough  description  and  graphic  story. 
Instruction,  tradition,  presentation,  have  the  advantage  of 
completeness  and  intelligibility,  but  this  method  lacks  sen- 
suous force ;  observation  possesses  the  latter,  but  it  is  more 
or  less  fragmentary  and  confused.  Therefore  it  is  necessary 
to  vivify  instruction  by  means  of  a  sensuous  vigor  of  obser- 
vation, and,  on  the  other  hand,  to  make  observation  an 
organic  whole  of  knowledge  by  means  of  supplementing, 
systematizing  instruction. 

How  does  education  supplement  intercourse  ?  Inter- 
course is  cultivated  with  animate  beings,  or  objects  imagined 
as  animate,  especially  with  human  beings.  The  teacher 
brings  the  child  into  relation  with  his  fellow-pupils  and 
with  adults.  But  this  intercourse  is  on  the  one  hand  too 
narrow,  on  the  other  hand  it  does  not  always  awaken  the 
interest  sustained  by  the  true  spirit  of  charity.  We  must 
therefore  add  another  kind  of  intercourse,  namely,  with 
men  that  live  remote  from  him,  or  have  lived  before  him, 
or  exist  only  in  poetry.  Is  such  an  intercourse  possible  ? 
Intercourse  does  not  cling  to  the  clod,  but  upon  the  wings 
of  imagination  it  hastens  to  meet  with  absent,  historic  or 
poetic  characters.  In  a  garret,  secluded  from  all  the  world, 
with  book  in  hand,  we  can  move  in  great  and  select  society. 
The  student  Luther  cultivated  the  society  of  Samuel,  who 


PEDAGOGICAL   APPLICATION.  67 

said  :  Speak,  Lord,  for  thy  servant  lieareth.  Bogiimil  Goltz 
tells  in  his  "Buch  der  Kiudheit"  about  his  intercourse  with 
Eobinson  Crusoe.  The  boy  forms  intimate  friendships 
with  the  heroes  of  old.  His  list  clinches  when  he  sees  his 
friend  suffer  under  the  oppression  of  an  untoward  fate,  and 
again  he  rejoices  when  he  sees  him  come  forth  crowned 
from  all  suffering  endured. 

That  part  of  education  which  supplements  intercourse  and 
experience  is  called  instruction.  If  it  must  be  admitted  on 
the  one  hand  that  immediate  experience  and  immediate  inter- 
course act  more  powerfully  than  such  an  experience  and  such 
an  intercourse  as  instruction  usually  finds  it  possible  to  sup- 
ply, it  cannot,  on  the  other  hand,  be  denied,  how  much  more 
pleasing  places  are  often  pictured  in  descriptions  and  draw- 
ings, than  they  are  in  reality;  how  much  more  satisfying  and 
inspiring  intercourse  with  the  world's  historic  men  is  than 
that  with  our  neighbors  ;  how  much  richer  of  comprehension 
the  concept  is  than  the  observation,  how  indispensable  for 
practice  the  contrast  is  between  the  real  and  that  which 
ought  to  be.  Since  it  is  the  purpose  of  instruction  to  sup- 
plement experience  and  intercourse,  it  must  be  regarded  as 
a  part  of  education  ;  its  position  is  beside  not  within  educa- 
tion. We  must  agree  with  Herbart  when  he  says :  "  I 
confess  to  have  no  conception  of  education  without  instruc- 
tion, just  as,  on  the  other  hand,  I  recognize  no  instruction 
which  does  not  morally  educate."  A  distinction  is,  how- 
ever, to  be  made  between  the  customary  view  of  instruction 
as  a  means  of  education  and  that  of  Herbart  and  his  school. 
"Of  morally  educative  instruction,"  says  the  former  in  his 
Letters,  "  have  I  first  begun  to  speak,  I  believe.  You  will 
recollect  that  we  emphasized  that  very  thing  most ;  instruc- 
tion is  too  much  regarded  as  of  only  secondary  importance  ; 
it  is  conceded  that  its  effect  is  most  enduring,  because 
acquired  knowledge  remains,  while  customs  and  manners 


68  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

change.  The  expression  educative  instruction  was  after- 
wards taken  out  of  my  mouth  and  used  much  against  my 
own  intention.  According  to  the  conventional  view,  the 
educative  effect  of  instruction  consists  in  the  fact,  that  it 
stirs  up  the  powers  dwelling  in  the  pupil,  strengthens  them 
by  practice  and  directs  them.  In  this  sense  of  course  every 
kind  of  instruction  is  a  kind  of  education,  nor  can  it  be 
denied  that  the  success  of  instruction  is  conditioned  upon 
the  vividness,  heartiness  and  conscientiousness  of  the 
instructor."  According  to  Herbart,  the  principal  care  of 
the  teacher,  in  addition  to  what  is  expected  in  the  way  of 
conventional  practice,  is  to  see  that  the  content  of  thought 
is  correctly  built  up  from  the  material  at  hand,  and  closely 
connected  even  in  its  remotest  parts,  in  order  that  the  for- 
mation of  character  shall  appear  to  be  properly  regarded. 
^  Character  forming  is  will  forming.  The  will  springs  from 
the  thought-complex,  which  instruction  has  to  form.  The 
educative  value  of  instruction  then  consists  in  the  influence 
which  it  shows  with  respect  to  the  will.  Not  every  kind 
of  instruction  produces  a  thought-complex  from  which  ener- 
getic volition  results.  Frederick  the  Great  had  enjoyed  a 
very  extensive  religious  education,  yet  Ke  manifested  but 
slight  religious  endeavor.  How  came  this  ?  The  perverted 
method  of  instruction  created  no  interest.  Interest,  there-;i^ 
fore,  must  be  the  product  of  education.  The  word  interest 
is  user!  in  a  twofold  sense.  It  is  demanded  of  instruction 
that  it  be  interesting,  in  order  that  the  pupil  may  the  mora^ 
easily  acquire  the  facts  of  knowledge.  In  this  view  the 
object  is  the  appropriation  of  the  facts  of  knowledge,  the 
means,  the  exciting  of  an  interest  for  this  material.  This*/" 
is  receptive  interest.  But  this  receptive  interest  does  not 
yet  assure  us  that  out  of  the  mediated  thought-complex  will  • 
spring  an  energetic  volition ;  the  facts  of  knowledge,  after 
they  have  been  received,  may  yet  remain  dead  and  unutil- 


PEDAGOGICAL  APPLICATION.  69 

ized.  We  must  therefore  cast  about  for  the  second  kind  of 
interest,  the  kind  that  Herbart  emphasized.  An  illustra- 
tion may  serve  to  elucidate  its  nature.  A  boy  hears  with 
special  attention  the  teacher's  stories  of  navigators.  He 
likes  to  think  of  them  also  out  of  school  hours  and  would 
like  to  know  more  of  them.  For  this  purpose  he  asks  the. 
teacher  for  books  and  is  all  attention  when  he  hears  any 
remarks  touching  his  favorite  theme.  The  boy  has  an 
investigating  interest.  This  leads  him  to  the  desire  to  be- 
come a  seaman,  and  afterward,  when  this  object  seems  to 
him  to  become  attainable,  a  volition  will  easily  be  developed 
from  this  desire.  The  investigating  interest  is,  as  it  were, 
the  root  of  the  desire  and  of  the  volition.  This  view  of 
interest  is  peculiar  to  the  Herbartian  philosophy,  and  in  the 
German  language  has  no  adequate  expression.^  The  word 
expresses  in  general  that  kind  of  intellectual  activity  which 
education  should  induce,  not  being  content  with  mere 
knowing. 

^  KnoAvledge  is  regarded  as  a  supply  that  might  be  absent 
without  in  any  way  changing  the  person.  He,  on  the  con- 
trary, who  holds  fast  to  acquired  knowledge  and  seeks  to 
extend  it  is  interested  in  it.  Though  interest  accompanies 
instruction  to  a  degree,  it  is  nevertheless  essentially  a  con- 
sequence of  instruction.  The  interest  that  education  has 
to  generate,  and  that  must,  up  to  a  certain  degree,  accom- 
pany instruction,  must  be  immediate,  i.e.,  the  pupil  must 
not  learn  merely  for  the  sake  of  securing  first  rank,  a  good 
grade,  a  brilliant  position  in  life.  Immediate  interest  works 
from  pure,  disinterested  devotion  to  the  thing,  and  finds  the 
reward  in  itself ;  it  knows  nothing  of  the  motives  of  selfish 

^  And  we  may  add,  the  same  difficulty  presents  itself  in  English  ; 
the  expressions,  to  be  partial  to,  to  have  a  fancy  for,  to  have  a  taste 
for,  to  take  an  interest  in,  approach  it  somewhat  in  meaning,  but 
cannot  completely  express  it.  —  Tk. 


60  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

speculation,  of  fear,  of  ambition.  For  this  reason  the 
teacher  must,  during  instruction,  avoid  everything  that  might 
favor  the  production  of  mediate,  and  hinder  tlie  production 
of  immediate  interest. 

But  immediate  interest  must  be  defined  more  closely. 
Let  us  assume  that  a  person  has  developed  a  lively  interest 
in  commercial  pursuits.  He  must  then  be  on  his  guard, 
lest  he  become  biased  in  the  pursuit  of  this  one  interest ; 
lest  his  entire  thought-complex  revolve  exclusively  about 
his  business ;  lest  he  forget  his  moral  and  religious  duties ; 
lest  he  neglect  even  the  education  of  his  children  —  all  for 
the  sake  of  his  business.  Such  a  biased,  limited  interest 
instruction  must  seek  to  prevent  by  exciting  a  many-sided 
interest,  which  does  the  one  thing  and  leaves  not  the  other 
undone.  In  the  many-sidedness  of  interest  the  pupil  is  by- 
aud-by  to  find  moral  anchorage  and  protection  against  that 
bondage  which  springs  from  the  desires  and  passions;  it 
shall  guard  him  against  all  those  errors  that  are  the  conse- 
quences of  idleness ;  it  shall  arm  him  against  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  fortune ;  it  shall  reconcile  him  with  life  again, 
even  Avhen  a  sad  fate  has  robbed  him  of  his  dearest;  it 
shall  let  him  find  a  new  vocation,  when  he  has  been 
crowded  out  of  the  old  one ;  it  shall  elevate  him  to  that 
point  of  view  from  which  all  earthly  possessions  and  all 
earthly  endeavor  appear  as  something  incidental,  by  which 
our  real  self  is  not  touched,  and  above  which  the  moral 
character  stands  sustained  and  free. 

Many-sided  interest  is  divided  into  the  interest  of  knowl- 
edge and  the  interest  of  sympathy. 

Knowledge  derived  from  the  sphere  of  experience  may 
direct  itself  first  toward  the  much,  the  many-colored  and  the 
manifold,  and  the  mind  may  take  pleasure  in  the  variety  and 
novelty  of  impressions.  The  excitation  and  eager  continu- 
ance of  endeavor  in  this  direction  is  called  empirical  interest. 


PEDAGOGICAL  APPLICATION.  61 

The  element  of  the  obscure  and  enigmatical,  as  it  is  met 
in  the  facts  of  history,  urges  from  a  mere  observing,  as  it 
predominates  in  the  empirical  interest,  to  reflection  con- 
cerning causal  connections ;  in  order  to  understand  facts 
and  events  one  seeks  to  become  clear  concerning  their 
causes  and  conditions.  An  effort  of  this  kind  presup- 
poses a  mental  activity  to  which  Herbart  gave  the  dis- 
tinguishing name  of  speculative  interest.  He  Avho  at  the 
sight  of  the  starry  'heavens  rejoices  over  the  millions  of 
stars  in  their  various  constellations,  manifests  an  empirical 
interest;  he  who  ponders  over  the  conditions  of  their  com- 
ing into  being  has  a  speculative  interest. 

Observation  is  reinforced  by  the  taste.  The  interest  that 
has  reference  neither  to  quantity  nor  to  the  causal  connec- 
tion, but  to  the  relations  of  what  is  observed,  whether  this 
lie  in  the  world  of  sense  or  in  the  thought  world,  is  called 
esthetic  interest.  When  reference  is  had  to  the  esthetic 
interest,  the  sense  of  the  beautiful  in  nature,  in  art  and  in 
morals  is  meant. 

In  matters  of  sympathy  from  the  sphere  of  intercourse, 
the  feelings  of  others  are  imitated  within  ourselves.  There 
arises  gradually  the  diversity  of  feeling,  in  which  the  good 
and  the  ill,  the  joy  and  the  grief  of  others,  are  repeated  in 
ourselves.  We  then  speak  of  the  sympatlietic  interest.  If 
to  this  feeling  is  joined  the  understanding  of  the  larger  rela- 
tions of  society,  if  one  participates  in  that  which  appears  to 
many  a  good  or  an  ill,  there  arises  the  public  spirit  for  the 
prosperity  of  human  relations,  which  Herbart  has  called, 
in  brie^,  social  interest.  When,  finally,  sympathy  follows  the 
trend  of  history  and  the  fortunes  of  the  human  race  in  ioto, 
when  the  reason  as  well  as  the  sensibility  perceives  that  the 
control  of  the  history  of  the  human  race  withdraws  itself 
from  all  human  forces,  and  that  for  this  reason  also  the 
history  of  every  individual  lies  not  in  his  own  power  —  then 


62  THE   PEDAGOGY  OF   HERB ART. 

do  fear  and  hope  join  with  sympathy  in  the  heart.     This  is 
religions  interest. 

A  yet  closer  definition  of  interest  is  necessary.  Just  as 
one-sidedness  is  to  be  avoided,  so  must  care  be  exercised  that 
the  various  phases  of  interest  receive  a  uniform  develop- 
ment, so  that  one  interest  shall  not  overbalance  another, 
and,  as  it  were,  a  one-sidetlness  arise  in  the  midst  of  variety. 
Many-sided  interest  must  be  well-balanced,  symmetrical. 

Interest  is  the  lamp  by  which  Herbart  once  for  all  has 
brought  tlie  clearness  of  day  into  the  dark  and  labyrinthine 
passages  of  didactics ;  it  is  the  magic  word  which  alone 
gives  to  instruction  the  power  to  evoke  the  spirit  of  youth, 
and  to  render  it  obedient  to  the  call  of  the  master ;  it  is 
the  long  lever-arm  of  education,  which,  easily  and  joyfully 
moved  by  the  teacher,  can  alone  bring  the  youthful  volition 
into  the  desired  motion  and  direction. 

How  does  interest  arise  ?  An  exhaustive  answer  to  this 
question  is  not  possible  in  this  place ;  we  must  therefore 
be  content  with  a  few  suggestions.  We  have  already  seen 
that  the  fusion  of  new  concepts  with  older  ones,  when  it 
takes  place  with  ease  and  certainty,  produces  a  pleasurable 
feeling,  by  means  of  which  is  induced  a  desire  to  re])eat  the 
same  inner  activity,  a  wish  to  continue  to  busy  oneself  with 
the  same  object.  It  Avill  be  seen  from  this  that  interest  is 
most  intimately  connected  with  apperception.  The  ease, 
the  pleasure  and  the  wish  or  need  convert  the  activity  of 
apperception  coming  from  within,  into  what  we  have  called 
interest.  He  who  watches  over  apperception  cares  also  for 
interest.  Therefore  he  who  would  arouse  interest,  must  so 
act  that  (a)  the  new  may  find  within  the  pupil  apperceiv- 
ing  concept-groups;  and  that  (b)  the  process  of  appercep- 
tion may  take  place  with  ease  and  respond  to  an  inner  nefe;l. 

Every  teacher  knows  that  there  are  materials  remote 
from  the  children,  which  in  general  exceed  their  receptive 


PEDAGOGICAL   APPLICATION.  63 

powers.  Materials  of  this  kind  find  too  few  apperceiving 
concept-groups,  are  therefore  unable  to  arouse  any  interest, 
and  hence  are  to  be  excluded  from  instruction  in  the  school- 
room. The  teacher  cannot  use  all  material ;  he  must  select 
not  only  the  useful,  but  from  all  that  is  fit  for  use,  the 
fittest,  the  best. 

Yet  it  is  not  enough  merely  to  make  a  proper  selection. 
The  Declaration  of  Independence,  for  instance,  is  without 
doubt  useful  for  the  school-room  in  general,  but  not  for 
children  of  the  first  school  year,  because  at  this  stage  the 
necessary  apperceiving  concepts  are  not  yet  in  existence. 
Hence  it  appears,  that  to  the  selection  of  subject-matter 
must  be  added  its  arrangement  (distribution  over  the  scliool 
period). 

But  even  the  best  of  material,  notwithstanding  the  best 
arrangement,  leaves  the  pupil  cold,  void  of  interest,  when 
the  methodical  (teaching)  treatment  is  wrong. 

First,  then,  we  must  speak  of  the  selection  of  subject- 
matter. 

To  teaching  belongs  the  task  of  supplementing  experience 
and  intercourse.  From  experience  there  comes  a  knowledge 
of  external  nature  (the  world)  ;  from  intercourse  arise  dis- 
positions toward  men.  To  supplement  experience,  we  re- 
quire the  materials  of  natural  science  (in  the  widest  sense). ^ 
To  supplement  intercourse,  we  require  instruction  that  trains 

1  To  the  real  or  imagined  intercourse  with  men  must  be  added  also 
the  intercourse  with  God,  whom  even  the  Bible  represents  as  the  friend 
of  men.  —  Ziller.  And  Herbart:  Education  is  to  supplement  expe- 
rience and  intercourse.  There  exists  nothing  except  nature,  man  and 
the  link  which  connects  these  two,  Providence.  When  education  has 
expanded  experience  into  acquaintance  with  nature,  and  has  elevated 
int'^i'course  into  an  appropriation  of  a  universal  interest  in  humanity, 
tchen  it  has  united  both  loith  relifjion,  then,  and  not  till  then,  has  it 
fulfilled  its  pedagogical  purpose.  Dorfeld  distinguishes  three  prin- 
cipal trends  of  knowledge :  Nature,  human  life  (in  the  past  and  in  the 
present)  and  religion. 


6-4  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

disposition  (culture  studies).  Disposition  has  reference 
chiefly  to  men  (sometimes  also  in  a  general  way  to  every- 
thing animate  or  regarded  as  animate).  The  sphere  of  tlie 
human  belongs  to  history  and  literature,  as  the  story  of  real 
or  merely  imagined  events.  Natural  science  and  history 
(both  taken  in  their  widest  sense)  indicate  therefore  the  two 
main  trends  from  which  the  materials  of  instruction  are  to 
be  derived.  Since  the  moral  worth  of  man  lies  in  his  dis- 
position, it  follows  that  culture  (historical)  study  deserves 
the  preponderance.  If  only  to  counteract  the  influence  of 
egotism,  human  relations  must  be  made  the  central  study  in 
every  school  which  assumes  the  culture  of  the  whole  man. 

Let  us  therefore  next  see  what  materials  are  to  be  chosen 
from  the  field  of  history. 

/  Oaly  such  historical  matter  may  be  admitted  as,  with 
proper  treatment,  must  awaken  interest  in  every  pupil. 
But  the  psychological  prerequisite  for  all  concepts  that  are 
to  enter  into  the  mind  as  interesting,  is  similarity,  or 
relationship  with  pre-existing  concepts,  the  condition  of 
being  expected  by  the  latter;  in  short,  the  most  careful 
regard  to  every  individuality,  and  to  the  ever-changing 
stage  of  apperception  in  each  case.  \The  material  must 
therefore  be  so  chosen  that  it  may  be  as  much  as  possible 
in  accordance  with  the  stages  of  apperception^  /But  since 
(according  to  Ziller)  every  human  being  as  Sn  iTuiividual 
must  pass  through  the  same  stages  of  develo2)ment  as  the 
human  race  in  toto,  it  follows  that  the  best  materials  will 
be  those  that  represent  the  principal  stages  of  development 
of  the  human  race.  Of  such  stages  (called  culture-histori- 
cal epochs)  Ziller  recognized  eight  and  prescribes  for  them 
the  following  materials  :  — 

1.  The  Epic  Fairy  Tale. 

2.  The  Story  of  Robinson  Crusoe. 


PEDAGOGICAL    APPLICATION.  65 

3.  The  History  of  tte  Patriarchs, 

4.  The  Period  of  Judges  iu  Israel. 
6.   The  Period  of  Kings  in  Israel. 

6.  The  Life  of  Jesus. 

7.  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

8.  The  History  of  the  Reformation. 

With  this  choice  of  materials  is  also  given  their  sequence. 
The  excellence  of  these  materials  can  only  be  shown  after 
we  have  first  spoken  of  the  second  main  trend  of  instruc- 
tion, natural  science. 

Let  it  be  remembered  that  education  is  in  the  service  of 
character  forming,  and  that  the  formation  of  character  can 
appear  assured  only  where  a  unified  thought-complex  is 
produced;  one  which  coheres  intimately  in  all  its  parts. 
But  if  a  unified  thought-complex  is  to  be  produced,  we 
must  not  have,  beside  the  historical  instruction,  entirely 
independent  instruction  in  natural  science  ;  the  formation 
of  two  separate  thought-circles,  separated  from  each  other 
by  a  gulf,  must  not  be  permitted.  If  we  would  obviate  this 
evil,  we  have  no  other  way  than  to  bring  these  two  chief 
groups  of  material  into  the  closest  possible  relation  to  each 
other ;  whence  it  follows  that  one  group  of  material  must 
adapt  itself  more  or  less  to  the  other.  It  has  already  been 
stated  above,  that  the  dominating  position  belongs  to  the 
historical  (culture)  material.  The  natural  science  matter 
must  therefore  adapt  itself  to  the  former.  Whence  it  fol- 
lows, that  the  choice  and  sequence  of  the  latter  are  also 
largely  determined  by  the  culture  study.^ 

Culture  study  and  natural  science  study  have  the  common 

1  The  Stoy  school  of  Herbartians  reject  Ziller's  subordination  of 
science  to  culture  studies,  seeking  rather  the  co-ordination  of  the  two 
groups.  For  an  exposition  of  this,  see  the  Editor's  Hcrhart  and  the 
Herbartians.    New  York:  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1894. — Ed. 


66  THE   PEDAGOGY   OF   HERBART. 

name  of  content  study  (Sachunterricht).  Objects  are  named 
by  means  of  language.  If  the  pupil  is  to  manipulate 
languigp,  that  is,  learn  to  speak,  read  and  write,  language 
must  be  made  a  special  subject  for  study.  The  teaching 
of  language  also  has  to  do  with  objects.  In  order  to 
secure  unity  of  the  thought-complex  the  study  of  language 
must  also  be  brought  into  relation  with  the  culture  studies. 
In  singing,  a  like  union  must  take  place.  In  drawing, 
objects  are  represented  in  outline;  arithmetic  has  to  do 
with  the  quantity  and  number  of  objects.  Therefore  these 
branches  must  also  be  brought  into  relation  with  culture 
studies,  if  we  would  secure  an  intimate  connection  of  ideas. 
Culture  study  is  therefore  the  center  of  education  in  gen- 
eral. Inasmuch  as,  with  Ziller,  character-forming  instruction 
makes  use  chiefly  of  those  materials  which  represent  the  cul- 
ture-historical stages  above  named,  these  form  the  central 
material  for  the  entire  education  of  youth. 

With  reference  to  this  Ziller  says :  "  For  every  grade 
of  instruction  and  every  kind  of  school  there  must  be  es- 
tablished a  uuity  of  thought.  On  account  of  the  moral- 
religious  purpose  of  education,rwe  must  provide  a  character- 
forming  material,  designed  to  serve  as  a  nucleus,  around 
which  everything  else  may  be  ranged  peripherically  and 
from  which  connecting  threads  may  extend  in  all  directions, 
whereby  all  parts  of  the  child's  thought  circle  may  be  con- 
stantly unified  and  held  together.  In  this  manner  education 
ceases  to  be  an  aggregate  of  separate  branches  of  instruction, 
which  otherwise  is  unavoidable.  The  selection  and  progress 
of  the  central  studies  are  to  be  so  adjusted  that  they  repre- 
sent partly  the  growth  and  development  of  the  child's  mind, 
and  especially  the  grades  of  apperception  which  must  suc- 
ceed one  another  according  to  psychological  laws;  pirtly 
also  his  progress  corresponding  to  the  development  of  the 
individual  in  the  great  whole  in  the  evolution  of  the  history 


PEDAGOGICAL   APPLICATION.  67 

of  the  human  race,  so  far  as  this  is  known  to  us  through 
dassicaV  literature  accessible  to  youth,  in  all  its  principal 
periods,  demonstrably  important  for  our  present  stage  of 
culture. 

These  materials,  couched  in  classical  form,  have  already 
been  named.     Let  us  now  proceed  to  consider  them  in  detail. 

In  the  above-mentioned  series  it  is  at  once  apparent  that 
the  first  two  grades  are  not  taken  from  religious  material, 
although  in  general  the  aim  is  evident  to  make  religious 
instruction  the  nucleus  of  the  entire  education  of  youth.  In 
the  first  two  school  years  the  life  of  Jesus  is  made  interest- 
ing to  the  little  ones,  not  so  much  as  a  subject  of  instruc- 
tion, as  an  entertaining  narrative  in  connection  with  the 
«hurch  feasts  in  special  children's  services.  Ziller  and  his 
adherents  have  come  to  the  conclusion,  that,  aside  from 
the  culture-historical  epochs,  a  fruitful  treatment  of  Bible 
history  during  the  first  two  years  is  not  practicable  on 
account  of  difficulties  which  lie  chiefly  in  the  remote 
time,  with  its  social  forms,  institutions,  manners,  customs, 
laws,  etc.,  and  in  the  strange  arena  of  this  history,  without 
the  knowledge  of  which  history  hangs  in  the  air,  a  picture 
consisting  of  figures  without  any  background.  The  thought- 
complex  of  the  pupil's  home  from  which  his  imagination 
must  borrow  colors  and  typical  pictures  for  the  distant 
and  the  strange,  for  the  remote  and  the  past,  must  first  be 
sufficiently  fortified,  before  he  may  be  conducted  to  the 
earliest  development  of  culture,  in  a  country  so  remarkable 
as  Canaan.  The  difficulties  of  Bible  language  might,  it  is 
true,  be  removed  by  a  simplification  of  the  text  after  the 
manner  of  Wiedemann,  but  to  such  a  profanation  the  school 
of  Herbart  and  Ziller  cannot  consent;  they  are  of  the  opinion 

1  Periods  which  no  master  has  described,  whose  spirit  no  poet 
breathes,  are  of  little  value  to  education.  —  Herbart. 


68  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HEUBART. 

that  the  Bible  character  of  those  stories  must  be  retained. 
All  their  deliberations  lead  to  this  result :  "Our  Bible  stories 
cannot  beeome  fully  and  completely  effective  in  the  mind  of 
the  cliild,  until  the  soil  has  been  properly  prepared  for  them 
during  the  first  two  years.  We  therefore  defer  the  treat- 
ment of  Bible  stories  as  a  study  until  the  third  year,  when 
we  hope  to  reap  more  satisfactory  results  than  have  hitherto 
been  secured." 

The  first  central  material  therefore  does  not  belong  to 
Bible  history,  nor  to  any  history  proper,  but  is  historic  only 
in  the  sense  that  it  contains  stories  that  treat  of  beings  that 
are  animate  or  conceived  to  be  animate.  Besides,  it  does 
not  consist  of  so-called  moral  stories,  which  are  for  the  most 
part  so  asthmatic,  that  they  are  obliged  to  stop  every  few 
moments  to  rest  upon  commonplace  moralizing. 

The  central  material  for  the  first  school  year  consists  of 
a  selection  of  Grimm's  Fairy  Tales.  These  best  meet  the 
requirements  that  must  be  made  of  a  genuine  juvenile  story 
(for  the  above-mentioned  grade).  They  are  truly  child- 
like, that  is,  simple  without  being  trivial  and  at  the  same 
time  full  of  imagination ;  they  are  morally  formative  in  the 
sense  that  they  contain  characters  and  relations,  which, 
simple  and  full  of  life,  challenge  the  ethical  judgment  to 
approve  or  disapprove  ;  they  are  instructive,  for  they  offer 
occasions  for  appropriate  discussions  concerning  nature 
and  society ;  they  are  of  enduring  value ;  they  invite  to  a 
constant  return ;  they  form  a  unit  and  thus  make  a  deep 
impression,  and  they  are  the  sources  of  a  possible  many- 
sided  interest. 

Professor  Ziller,  in  the  first  "  Jahrbuch  Des  Vereins  fiir 
Wissenschaftliche  Padagogik,"  has  laid  down  the  value  of 
the  fairy-tale  material  in  a  manner  which,  in  point  of  thor- 
oughness, far  excels  all  attempts  that  have  been  hitherto 
made.     Following  is  a  brief  synopsis  of  his  ch.ief  points  :  — 


PEDAGOGICAL   APPLICATION,  69 

Fairy  tales  are  adapted,  as  is  nothing  else,  to  the  individ- 
uality of  the  child,  and  especially  to  the  predominating 
faculty  of  imagination,  which  is  by  all  means  to  be  culti- 
vated, since  in  this  are  rooted  all  the  higher  strivings.  For 
this  reason  the  concept  matter  must  be  poetic.  Only  poetic 
thought  material  allows  the  imagination  free  play,  especially 
the  fairy-tale  material,  which  contains  no  names  of  persons 
or  places,  whose  events  are  defined  precisely  neither  as  to 
space  nor  time.  The  child  who  becomes  absorbed  in  fairy 
tales  remains  longer  a  child;  he  contemplates  them  with 
delight;  he  believes  in  them;  for  he  himself  rises,  as  do  the 
fairy  tales,  above  the  conditions  of  reality ;  he  vivifies  the 
lifeless;  he  animates  the  soulless;  he  associates  with  all 
the  world  as  with  his  equals,  and  loses  himself  in  adventur- 
ous impossibilities.  Thus  to  favor  the  child-like  views  of 
things  by  means  of,  to  him,  congenial  fairy  tales  cannot  re- 
act harmfully  upon  him,  because  the  fairy  tale  contains, 
besides  that  subjective  conception  which  deviates  from  the 
nature  of  things,  also  an  abundance  of  objective,  rational, 
not  only  esthetic  but  also  ethical,  notions  and  principles, 
which  lead  far  be3'0nd  the  sphere  of  imagination.  They 
serve  especially  to  exercise  the  ethical  judgment,  and,  be- 
cause the  circle  of  acquaintance  is  extended  to  include 
inanimate  things,  the  child  finds  a  rich  field  unlocked, 
where,  on  account  of  the  simplicity  and  correctness  of  the 
cases,  it  learns  to  decide  easily,  rapidly  and  correctly. 

A  large  number  of  other  objective  notions  also,  which  re- 
late to  the  natural  conditions  of  events,  are  found  in  fairy 
tales,  and  instruction  will  treat  them,  too,  in  a  strictly 
rational  manner,  so  that,  notwithstanding  the  child's  utter 
abandonment  to  the  fairy  tale,  the  harmful  effect  that  was 
feared  does  not  take  place.  For  in  the  child's  conscious- 
ness, whose  parts  at  first  fuse  but  very  slightly,  the  wonder- 
ful fairy-tale  content  forms  an  isolated  circle,  complete  in 


70  THE   PEDAGOGY   OF   HERBART. 

itself,  and,  instead  of  hurrying  their  fusion,  the  contrast 
between  the  supernatural  fairy-tale  products  and  the  present 
reality  should  be  allowed  to  stand  out  very  boldly,  with  the 
growing  confidence  of  the  child  in  his  experience;  the  actual 
in  the  fairy  tale  will  be  emphasized  less  and  less,  and  more 
weight  given  to  the  poetic  and  ideal  truth  of  the  esthetic 
and  the  ethical,  so  that  there  may  remain,  as  a  much-desired 
residue,  an  ideal  tendency  of  the  thougJds  and  higher  reach  of 
spiritual  life.  If,  on  the  contrary,  there  were  narrated  only 
what  is  true  and  real,  it  might  easily  result  in  a  rigidity  of 
conception,  which  concerns  itself  only  in  the  most  common- 
place of  sensuous  realities,  and  which  has  no  receptivity, 
either  for  the  lofty  creations  of  the  poets,  or  for  the  sur- 
misings  and  wonders  of  religious  faith. 

But  all  education  must  proceed  from  the  individuality, 
only  to  raise  the  child  above  it,  and  to  plunge  him  into 
universal  human  conditions.  This  latter,  also,  the  fairy 
tale  succeeds  in  doing.  As  a  national  tale,  reflecting  the 
principal  features  of  the  nation,  it  expands  the  child's  nar- 
row consciousness  through  the  development  of  the  national 
germ,  throc^'gh  the  eternal  reproduction  of  the  popular  con- 
ception of  nature  and  the  world.  As  an  international  tale, 
it  lets  the  child  participate  in  the  universal  spirit  of  child- 
hood, which  of  old  belonged  to  the  race  as  a  common 
possession.  And,  finally,  it  widens  out  the  child's  con- 
sciousness beyond  what  is  national  and  universally  accordant 
with  child  nature,  by  filling  it  with  the  simplest  and  most 
original  notions  in  matters  of  morality,  and  by  the  certain 
generation  of  the  ethical  judgment  and  of  the  religious 
sentiment  in  the  simplest  relations  which  lie  within  the 
childish  sphere. 

Thus  do  the  fairy  tales,  which  are  at  the  same  time 
classic  materials,  to  which  old  and  young  love  to  return, 
lead  from  the  most  individual  ideas,  from  which  everything 


PEDAGOGICAL  APPLICATION.  71 

must  grow  that  is  to  become  strong,  to  the  most  general, 
which  belongs  to  man  as  such.  They  serve  in  their 
sphere  both  the  child  nature  and  the  highest  purpose  of 
education. 

Touching  the  moral  value  chiefly,  Dr.  Rein  says  :  — 
"  The  genuine  fairy  tale  always  represents,  in  the  play  of 
the  imagination,  a  deep  moral  content ;  for  its  root  is  the 
poetic  side  of  the  mind,  which  clothes  a  higher  truth  in 
visible  shapes  and  delivers  it  in  the  form  of  a  story.  The 
fairy  tale  hides  a  multitude  of  ethical  concepts,  which  lead 
beyond  the  sphere  of  the  imagination.  Without  encourag- 
ing any  over-hasty  moralizing,  there  is  offered  abundant 
opportunity  to  awaken  the  ethical  judgment,  that  basis 
of  all  ethical  valuation, — to  develop  it  and  to  deduce 
maxims  from  it.  Ethical  ideas  are  the  principal  compo- 
nents of  fairy  tales.  Upon  these  rests  the  purity  that  is 
the  characteristic  of  innocent  child  nature.  In  this  ethical 
attraction  the  principal  reason  is  to  be  found  why  the 
child  experiences  such  a  deep  satisfaction  in  the  fairy  tale, 
why  he  manifests  such  an  easy  and  certain  comprehen- 
sion of  it,  why  he  feels  such  a  lively  desire  for  it.  The 
most  simple  and  the  most  elementary  notions  in  ethical 
matters  are  laid  down  in  the  fairy  tales.  But  this  sim- 
plicity facilitates  the  comprehension :  the  judgment  is 
clear  and  undoubted.  To  the  ethical  notions  are  now 
added  a  large  number  of  ideas  of  another  sort,  which  are 
objectively  comprehensible.  For  fairy  tales,  though  in 
many  respects  remote  from  reality,  yet  stand  in  close 
touch  with  the  ordinary  relations  of  life.  The  ethical  as 
also  the  intellectual  material  must  now  be  methodically 
elaborated ;  in  a  merely  playful,  occasional  use  of  the  fairy 
tales,  as  is  very  often  proposed,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the 
evils  which  their  opponents  predict  as  consequences  of  fairy 
tales,  especially  with  reference  to  morality,  will  really  ap- 


72  THE  PEDAGOGY   OF   HEPtBART. 

pear,'  because  these  evils  can  be  excluded  with  certainty 
only  by  methodical  treatment." 

As  to  further  central  material  Ave  are  confronted  by 
the  difficulty  of  choosing  it  in  such  a  way,  that  it  may,  on 
the  one  hand,  continue  that  activity  of  imagination  which 
has  been  aroused  by  the  fairy  tale;  on  the  other  hanl,  that 
it  may,  by  its  definite  and  authentic  relations  to  history,  be 
suited  to  limit  this  free  dominion  of  imagination,  and  to 
guide  the  pupil  to  the  anticipation  of  historical  develop- 
ment. In  addition  to  this,  of  course,  the  formation  of  char- 
acter must  bs  continued  that  has  been  begun  with  the  grade 
of  the  fairy  tale.  The  new  material  must  at  the  saine  time 
be  capable  of  being  utilized  ;  the  threads  there  attached  must 
be  spun  out  farther  in  order  to  form  the  tissue  of  a  mural- 
religious  character.  This  material  Ziller  has  found  in  De 
Fo3's  story  of  Robinson  Crusoe,  whose  great  ])edagogical 
significance  was  recognized  by  Rousseavi.  Ziller  says:  "This 
creation  of  imagination,  E-obinson  Crusoe,  reminds  one  of 
that  prehistoric  time  wlien  man  first  laboriously  struggling, 
and  at  first  unassisted  by  any  social  connection,  raised  him- 
Silf  above  external  nature,  in  order  to  control  it  and  to  use 
it  for  his  purposes ;  of  that  time,  when  by  the  greatest 
exertions  the  very  simplest  and  most  necessary  experiences 
and  inventions  were  made,  whose  significance  is  so  easily 
obscured  by  the  habit  of  constant  use,  and  without  which  it 
would  yet  have  been  impossible  for  the  human  mind  to  cast 
a  quiet  glance  upon  the  social  ideas,  whose  realization,  in 
view  of  his  historical  development,  becomes  his  dnt^'. 
AVhen  this  standpoint  has  once  been  reached,  a  chronolog- 

i  The  treatment  of  all  poetical  material,  even  in  fairy  tales  and 
le,2:ends,  which  is  not  thoroughly  digested  and  thought  out,  confnses 
and  undermines  the  conditions  under  which  we  live  in  the  world  in 
general  or  in  special  circles,  because  of  the  mistakes  and  confusions 
which  then  take  place. 


PEDAGOGICAL  APPLICATION.  73 

ical  ascension  from  the  most  ancient  history  of  Palestine 
to  the  history  of  the  present  becomes  possible  to  the  pupil. 
Our  aim  is,  to  consider  all  the  periods  important  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  development  of  the  race,  which  in  their  most 
general  features  also  correspond  to  the  development  of  the 
pupil  himself,  so  far  as  a  poet  or  historian  has  described 
them  in  a  classical  manner. 

"  At  every  cardinal  point  the  conviction  must  possess  us, 
that  the  human  race  cannot  stand  still  here.  It  behooves 
us  to  transmit  to  the  pu[iil  the  total  acquisition  of  general 
human  culture,  beginning  with  the  first  historical  germs. 
It  behooves  us,  first  of  all,  to  make  him  acquainted  with  all 
the  abundance  of  human  will- relations  in  their  varieties 
and  modifications,  and  so  to  influence  him,  that,  for  all  the 
circumstances  of  real  life  into  which  he  must  place  himself 
by  means  of  his  imagination,  his  own  judgment  shall  ren- 
der decisions  in  accordance  with  the  ethical  ideas  or  with 
the  universal  religious  consensus  of  thought.  But  it  be- 
hooves us,  also,  to  arm  him  as  far  as  possible  with  the  theo- 
retic knowledge  of  the  natural  conditions  of  moral  action. 
Such  instruction  every  pupil  needs ;  to  bring  it  about,  we 
place  as  the  center  of  the  second  school  year,  Robinson 
Crusoe,  properly  edited." 

In  the  third  school  year  the  pupils  are  met,  in  the  history 
of  the  Patriarchs,  by  the  first  representatives  of  human 
culture ;  there  follows  the  epoch  of  heroes  (Judges)  ;  the 
epoch  of  an  ordered  national  life  under  kings ;  the  life  of 
Jesus  also,  or  the  world-view  represented  in  him,  counts 
as  a  stage  in  the  development  of  general  culture,  to  which 
one  stage  of  individual  development  corresponds  or  should 
correspond  ;  just  so  do  the  two  following  stages  appear 
necessary  to  Ziller ;  they  offer  the  dissemination,  inner 
appropriation  and  the  organizing  embodiment  of  the  Chris- 
ti-ui  idea  in  the  life  of  nations,  and  are  of  high  value  to  the 


74  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

school  as  a  basis  for  the  progressive  Christianizing  of  the 
pupils. 

By  the  side  of  the  history  of  the  people  of  Israel  is  placed 
that  of  our  own  nation,  of  the  German,  and  in  such  a  way 
that  the  various  steps  may  be  referred  to  each  other.  To 
the  Patriarchs  correspond  the  Thuringian  legends ;  to  the 
Judges,  those  of  Siegfried;  so  also  are  there  corresponding 
kings  (emperors),  Charlemagne,  Henry  I.,  Frederick  Bar- 
barossa,  Rudolph  (of  Hapsburg) ;  in  addition  to  the  life  of 
Jesus,  Protestants  desire  to  treat  that  of  the  Reformer; 
beside  the  spread  of  Christianity  they  will  study  the 
struggle  for  the  preservation  and  strengthening  of  Protes- 
tantism, until  finally  the  doctrine  of  salvation,  which  forms 
the  connecting  and  concluding  portion  of  the  history  of  the 
Ref.)rmation,  seeks  to  lead  the  pupil  into  the  social  life  of 
the  chufch;  just  so,  on  the  other  hand,  the  intellectual 
co-expei-ience  of  our  great  nitional  uprising  is  to  guide  the 
pupil  across  to  the  common  national  life. 

These  are  great  materials  and  great  times  that  we  have 
before  us ;  well  suited  to  fill  completely  the  soul  of  the 
child  and  to  give  it  a  content  for  life.  This  rich  material 
of  education  is  still  further  essentially  enriched  and  ex- 
panded by  a  series  of  new  materials.  To  the  central 
material  is  first  to  be  attached  the  related  material  from 
our  national  literature.  The  time  of  Charlemagne,  for 
instance,  is  introduced  by  the  legends  of  Roland  and  Charle- 
magne ;  in  like  manner  the  stories  of  Hebel  are  used,  in 
order  to  relieve  the  gloomy  picture  of  the  Napoleonic  wars 
at  the  beginning  of  this  century  by  a  series  of  pleasing 
and  inspiring  traits  of  genuine  human  action.  Also  from 
the  realms  of  nature  and  of  forms  much  must  be  utilized 
that  may  aid  in  the  understanding  of  the  material  of  con- 
centration. Thus  neither  the  life  of  the  Patriarchs  nor  the 
life  of  Jesus  could  be  fully  comprehended,  did  not  at  the 


PEDAGOGICAL   APPLICATION".  75 

saraa  time  geography  and  natural  science  inform  us  of 
the  nature  of  the  soil  of  Palestine,  of  its  climate  and  pro- 
ductions, of  its  inhabitants,  their  customs  and  occupa- 
tions. 

Just  so  everything  that  touches  the  experience  of  the 
individual,  throwing  light  upon  the  central  subjects,  must 
come  within  the  range  of  our  consideration.  Thus  it  was 
the  custom  in  Ziller's  practice  school  at  Leipsic,  to  observe 
the  confluence  of  the  Pleisse  and  Elster  when  in  the  study 
of  Bible  history  Mesopotamia  was  under  discussion;  and 
his  pupils  marched  out  to  the  monument  of  ]N"apoleon,  and 
visited  the  battle-fields,  when  the  year  1813  and  the  battle 
of  Leipsic  were  discussed  in  history.  And  vice  versa,  when 
the  Song  of  Moses  after  the  Children  of  Israel  have  been 
saved  from  the  hand  of  the  Egyptians  is  sung,  the  teacher 
will  not  fail  to  call  to  mind  the  words  of  Kaiser  Wilhelm 
after  the  victories  in  France ;  and  when  pupils  read  how 
Moses  sets  up  judges  and  writes  laws,  there  will  be  allusions 
at  the  same  time  to  local  conditions  of  law  and  justice. 

Finally,  to  all  the  preceding  there  must  be  added  such 
materials  as  tend  to  perpetuate  the  interest  awakened  by 
the  central  subjects,  showing  more  clearly  the  continuity 
of  the  progress  of  civilization  or  bringing  some  study  of 
details  to  a  close. 

How  is  the  connection  between  the  central  subjects  and 
the  other  materials  to  be  understood  ?  Is  there  to  be  a 
mixing  up  of  branches  of  instruction  ?  Do  the  separate 
branches  lose  their  identity  ?  Do  they  become  lost  in  the 
central  material,  and  have  we  instead  only  detached  notices 
of  them  ?  Nothing  of  the  kind !  Points  of  attachment 
are  to  be  secured  among  the  separate  branches;  a  unified 
mood,  a  closed  circle  of  thought  is  to  be  created  in  the  soul 
of  the  child.  But  every  branch  of  study  treats  its  material 
in  its  own  peculiar  way,  each  emphasizes  those  phases  that 


76  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

belong  to  its  character,  each  guides  the  thought  into  those 
channels  that  lie  within  its  province  and  domain. 

That  such  a  method  of  procedure  is  possible,  has  been 
clearly  shown  by  the  practice  school  of  Ziller^  at  Leipsic. 

1  Tuiskon  Ziller  was  born  December  22,  1817,  at  Wasunsen  in 
Meiningen,  where  his  father  was  Rector.  After  a  suitable  preparatory 
ti'aining  at  home,  as  well  as  iu  the  city  school  in  Wasungen,  he  entered 
the  Gymnasium  at  Meiningen  and  afterward  the  University  of  Leipsic, 
where  he  studied  Philology.  Forced  by  family  circumstances,  he  ac- 
cepted a  position  as  teacher  in  the  Gymnasium  of  Meiningen,  after 
completing  his  academic  studies  ;  but  about  1850  he  again  entered  the 
University  of  Leipsic,  to  study  Jurisprudence.  In  1853  he  graduated 
from  the  university  on  the  presentation  of  a  philosophical  thesi-s. 
Previous  to  this  time  he  had  manifested  an  interest  in  Pedagogy. 
In  the  year  1856  he  issued  bis  first  pedagogical  publication,  entitled : 
"Introduction  to  General  Pedagogy,"  and  in  the  following  year 
"The  Government  of  Children."  The  path-finding  reformer  is  not 
yet  recognizable  in  these  works.  In  connection  with  Dr.  Ernest 
Barth  he  founded  in  Leipsic  a  society  for  the  establishment  and  main- 
tenance of  a  practice  school,  which  came  into  existence  there  in  1863. 
Just  previous  to  this,  beginning  with  the  winter  semester  1861-62,  a 
Normal  School  (akademischpiidagogisches  Seminar)  had  been  created, 
whose  teachers  gave  instruction  in  the  practice  school.  In  the  year 
1865  Ziller  published  his  epoch-making  work:  "  Grundlegung  zur 
Lehre  vom  erziehenden  Unterricht."  Three  years  later,  in  comjaany 
with  Senff  of  Berlin,  he  founded  the  Society  for  Scientific  Pedagogy, 
which  at  present  counts  more  than  eight  hundred  members.  This 
society  publishes  an  annual  Report,  the  articles  of  which  are  discussed 
in  the  general  conventions.  Membership  is  obtainable  on  application  ; 
the  annual  fee  is  four  marks,  for  which  members  receive  the  annual 
Report  and  the  stenogi'aphic  reports  of  the  discussions.  In  1876  were 
published  his  "  Vorlesungen  iiber  allgemeine  Padagogik"  (Lectures 
on  General  Pedagogy).  His  last  work  was  "  Allgemeine  philosophische 
Ethik"  (General  Philosophical  Ethics),  1881.  Early  in  life  he  suffered 
from  deafness,  while  toward  the  close  he  had  to  endure  painful  physi- 
cal ailments.     He  died  of  dropsy,  April  20,  1882. 

The  presiding  officer  of  the  Society  for  Scientific  'Pedagogy  at  the 
present  time  is  Prof.  Dr.  Theodor  Vogt,  of  Vienna.    Next  after  Ziller 


PEDAGOGICAL   APPLICATION.  77 

On  the  other  hand,  one  must  become  emancipated  from  thi 
idea  that  the  various  branches  can  be  taught  only  in  the 
systematic  arrangement  that  is  found  in  conventional  courses 
of  study. 

Ziller's  ''Foundations  for  the  Doctrine  of  Education,"  1865, 
in  which  the  above  thoughts  were  first  developed  in  a  com- 
prehensive and  thorough  manner,  is  "a  master-work,  such 
as  is  not  to  be  matched  in  the  literature  of  pedagogy" 
(Dorpfeld).  It  may  be  that  the  theory  established  by 
Ziller  will  suffer  various  modifications ;  that  much  will  at 
a  later  time  be  displaced  by  something  better ;  however 
that  may  be,  for  the  pedagogy  of  the  future  the  doctrine 
of  Ziller  will  always  indicate  the  trend.  Three  men  of  great 
merit,  Dr.  William  K.ein,  Professor  of  pedagogy  in  the  uni- 
versity of  Jena,  together  with  Pickel  and  Scheller,  teachers 
in  the  normal  school  at  Eisenach,  have  carried  Ziller's 
theoretical  deductions  into  practice,  witla  happy  moditica- 
tions  of  various  points,  in  the  epoch-making  work,  "  Theory 
and  Practice  of  Public  Education  according  to  Herbartian 
Principles."  May  the  publishers  succeed,  in  new  editions, 
in  carrying  out  yet  more  rigidly  the  concentration  demanded 
by  Ziller ! 

The  reader  will  have  observed  that  the  word  concentra- 
tion has,  in  the  school  of  Herbart-Ziller,  a  meaning 
ditferent  from  the  conventional  view.  Concentration  is 
a  term  which  pedagogical  shallowness  has  appropriated. 
Those  on  the  one  hand  say,  the  school  has  the  task  to  teach 
the  pupil  to  read,  write,  cipher;  upon  these  it  must  concen- 
trate its  efforts.     We  have  already  seen  what  relation  these 

the  man  most  deserving  attention  for  his  contributions  to  tlie  pedagogy 
of  Herbart  is  Prof.  Karl  Vollcmar  Stoy,  of  Jena  (deceased  1885).  He, 
too,  conducted  a  Seminar  and  Practice  School  combined.  His  chief 
publication  is  "  Encyclopadie  der  Padagogik."  Other  academic  teach- 
ers are  Wailz  (deceased],  Willmauii  (Praguu)  and  SLiumpell  (Leipsic). 


78  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

branches  sustain  to  thoiiglit  study.  Indispensable  as  skill 
in  these  branches  is,  it  is  wrong  to  put  the  main  empliasis 
upon  them.  Our  public  school  is  to  be  a  school  of  moral 
education,  not  a  school  of  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic. 

But  those  also  who  place  the  greatest  emphasis  upon 
thought  study,  often  have  a  false  view  of  the  term  concen- 
tration. For  it  is  held,  to  give  one  instance  only,  that  be- 
sides skill  in  those  things  requisite  for  social  life,  the  chief 
subject  for  study  in  the  (German)  public  school  is  religion, 
and  people  of  this  mode  of  thinking  are  willing  to  allow  the 
other  branches  of  thought  study  either  no  existence  at  all  or 
but  a  meager  one.  This  is,  to  use  Stoy's  happy  expression, 
*'  surgical  pedagogy,"  which  seeks  salvation  in  the  partial 
or  total  amputation  of  individual  branches  of  study,  but  for- 
gets that  it  thus  develops  only  one  side  of  the  mind.  But 
though  the  greatest  exertions  be  made  on  this  side,  it  is  just 
as  if  one  would  compensate  a  cripple  for  the  loss  of  one 
limb,  by  doubling  the  length  of  the  other.  Concentrating 
the  instruction  merely  by  striking  out  branches  of  study, 
does  not  lead  to  internal  unification,  and  a  school  with  only 
two  branches,  can  still,  in  its  teaching,  produce  two,  and 
even  more,  concept-masses,  entirely  distinct  from  each 
other. 

Close  to  the  Zillerian  idea  of  concentration  stands  our 
sturdy  Khenish  schoolman,  Dorpfeld,  who  also  demands 
that  culture  study  should  form  the  center  of  all  education. 
He  demands :  — 

1.  Normality  of  the  curriculum  (full  number  of  branches, 

etc.). 

2.  Unified  departments  of  study,  i.e.,  in  a  complex  depart- 

ment of  study,  as  in  religion,  the  various  branches, 
as  Bible  history,  Catechism,  etc.,  must  be  combined 
into  one  xinified  course  of  study. 


PEDAGOGICAL   APPLICATION.  79 

3.  Inter-relating  of  all  the  brandies  in  teaching,  according 

to  their  several  characters, 
(a)  of  the  thought  and  language  studies, 
(6)  of  the  thought  and  form  studies, 
(c)  of  the  branches  of  thought  studies  among  one  another. 

4.  Central  position  of  religious  instruction,  —  in  the  service 

of  character-building. 

It  is  true,  there  is  here  no  mention  of  the  culture- 
historical  epochs.  But  Dorpfeld  has  called  attention  to  the 
fact  that,  "  as  an  idea,  this  demand  does  not  belong  to  the 
principle  of  concentration."  Disregarding  the  theoretical 
phase  and  considering  the  practical  side,  the  thought  of  the 
historical-culture  epochs,  in  Ziller's  sense,  has  something  to 
do  with  concentration.  He  who  carefully  reads  the  theo- 
retical discussion  of  this  idea  in  Ziller's  "  Grundlegung," 
and  its  methodical  treatment  in  Rein,  must  soon  see  that 
the  observing  of  the  culture  epochs  as  they  are  there  given 
not  only  facilitates  the  carrying  out  of  the  concentrating 
function  of  the  four  principles  above  mentioned  {i.e.,  pro- 
duction of  a  unified  thought-content),  but  also  considerably 
strengthens  this  concentration  itself.  Whether  the  ma- 
terials by  means  of  which  Ziller  allows  the  culture  epochs 
to  be  represented  are  properly  chosen,  and  to  what  extent 
the  matter  may  be  carried  out  in  schools  of  fewer  grades, 
are  the  questions  under  discussion.  After  Dorpfeld  has  re- 
minded us  that  the  question  of  the  culture-historical  epochs 
has  not  yet  been  discussed  to  that  degree  which  would 
warrant  practical  educators  taking  position  with  reference 
to  it,  he  gives  the  following  advice  :  "  Whoever  has  at  heart 
the  concentration  of  instruction,  let  him  take  care  to  keep 
the  four  concentrating  principles  distinct  from  the  idea  of 
the  culture  epochs,  and  above  all  work  to  the  end,  that  the 
former  at  least  may  soon  receive  general  recognition.     He 


80  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

who  fails  to  heed  this  advice  becomes  guilty  of  a  grave 
error,  and  himself  lays  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  good 
cause ;  the  recognition  of  the  principle  of  concenti'ation  is 
retarded  and  mutual  agreement  concerning  culture  epochs 
is  at  least  not  promoted."  ^ 

After  we  have  spoken,  in  passing,  of  the  selection  and  ar- 
rangement of  the  subject-matter  in  public  school  education, 
and  shown  that  the  representatives  of  the  Herbartian  ped- 
agogy would  substitute  for  the  conventional  aggregate  of 
studies  a  study  system  (Lehrplansystem  —  Ziller),  a  well- 
planned  organism  (ein  planvolles  Geglieder  —  Dorpfeld), 
we  proceed  finally  to  the  discussion  of  the  elaboration  of 
the  subject-matter. 

A  one-sided  education  does  not  lead  to  the  desired  ethical 
result,  therefore  instruction  must  strive  to  secure  many- 
sidedness.  Many-sidedness  presupposes  many  individual 
impressions,  which,  in  order  to  produce  solidarity  of  con- 
sciousness, must  be  united.  This  uniting  is  called  reflecting. 
The  condition,  therefore,  of  the  many-sidedness  to  be  created 
by  teaching  is  reflection,  and  a  change  of  attention  is  details. 

1  Friedricli  Willielm  Dorpfeld  was  born  in  1824  at  Wermelskirchen, 
in  the  circuit  of  Leunep.  After  attending  tlie  public  school  he  en- 
tered the  senior  class  of  the  Zahn  Institute  in  Moers,  which  was  at 
that  time  also  a  preparatory  school.  After  a  brief  service  as  assistant 
teacher  in  a  public  school  he  attended  the  Normal  Seminary  in  Moers, 
and  then  received  an  appointment  as  teacher  in  the  above-mentioned 
Zahn  Institute.  He  was  afterwards  teacher  in  a  small  village  school. 
In  1849  lie  was  called  to  the  principalship  of  the  schools  of  Barmen- 
"Wupperfeld,  in  which  position  he  remained  until,  owing  to  ill  health, 
he  was  pensioned  in  1880.  It  is  especially  worthy  of  remark  that  at 
the  educational  conference  to  which  the  Minister  of  Education  had 
invited  him  (1872),  he  defended  the  unity  and  well-planned  organism 
of  the  Course  of  Study,  without,  however,  succeeding  in  all  his 
demands.  Ten  years  later  he  again  defended  the  same  issue  in  a 
work  entitled,  "Zwei  dringliche  lleforraen." 


PEDAGOGICAL   APPLICATION.  81 

The  siihject-matter  to  be  treated  must  first  be  separated 
into  small  divisions,  small  wholes  of  instruction  or  method- 
ical unities,  each  one  of  which  is  to  be  subjected  to  an  elab- 
oration by  itself.  These  methodical  unities  must  not  be  too 
large,  as  they  would  then  be  difficult  to  retain,  and  yet  they 
must  be  large  enough  to  have  a  sufficiently  large  content. 
Thus  Dorpfeld  proposes  in  the  story  of  the  birth  and  flight 
of  Moses  to  establish  the  following  unities :  (1)  Israel's 
Oppression;  (2)  The  Rescue  of  the  Future  Rescuer;  (3)  The 
Education  of  Moses;  (4)  His  First  Appearance;  (5)  The  Con- 
sequences of  this  Attempt  at  Emancipation. 

How  is  the  elaboration  of  the  methodic  unity  to  be 
effected  ? 

We  have  seen  in  the  psychological  part  of  this  essay,  that 
notions  must  be  apperceived,  if  our  mental  life  is  to  be  truly 
enriched  by 'them;  we  have  also  learned  that  apperception 
takes  place  only  between  similar  related  notions.  If  the 
new  that  we  purpose  to  offer  to  the  child  is  to  become  his 
permanent  intellectual  possession,  we  must  inquire  in  the 
next  place :  What  concepts  related  to  the  new  exist  in  the 
soul  of  the  child  ?  These  old  concepts  related  to  the  new 
must,  before  offering  the  latter,  be  recalled  vividly  to  con- 
sciousness, because  only  then  will  the  new  instantly  and 
permanently  unite  with  them.  This  recalling  is  effected  in 
the  preparation;  the  latter  must  push  aside  all  foreign 
thoughts,  and  loosen  from  confusion  those  with  which  con- 
nection is  to  be  made ;  they  must  be,  as  it  were,  "  the  hooks 
to  which  the  new  is  to  be  attached  " ;  only  by  means  of 
these  hooks  does  the  new  become  a  permanent  intellectual 
possession,  inasmuch  as  all  learning,  according  to  a  dictum 
of  Ziller,  rests  upon  the  assimilation  of  the  new  by  the 
already  known.  Thus  by  means  of  preparation,  provision  is 
made  for  apperception,  and  therefore,  as  previously  shown, 
for  the  inception  of  interest.     Thus  would  be  determined 


82  THE   PEDAGOGY    OF    HEUBART. 

the  cliarncter  of  prepiration;  it  must  offer  nothing  new  and 
unfamiliar;  its  function  is  to  analyze  the  child's  thought- 
content,  to  separate  it  into  two  parts,  one  immedi  itely  con- 
cerned in  the  lesson,  the  other  comparatively  inlifferent  for 
the  time  being.  But  in  order  that  the  child  may,  as  far  as 
possible,  himself  select  these  necessary  concepts,  and  thus 
a  free-rising  mental  activity  take  place,  the  aim  must  be 
established  before  the  preparation  (separation,  analysis). 
This  aim  must  be  akin  to  the  older  ideas,  which  are  to  le 
connectedly  stated,  so  far  as  possible,  by  the  chil  Iren  them- 
selves. The  setting-up  of  this  aim  has  the  additional  value, 
that  it  gives  the  pupils  a  vigorous  motive  to  volition.  The 
pupil  must  know  from  the  beginning  what  is  aimed  at,  if  he 
is  to  employ  his  whole  strength  in  the  effort  of  learning; 
and  he  will  employ  it,  providing  he  knows  definitely  what 
is  to  be  reached.  To  lead  him  up  to  the  aim  unconsciously, 
by  questions  and  tasks  whose  purpose  he  does  not  clearly 
see,  has  this  disadvantage,  that  neither  a  free-rising  mental 
activity  nor  a  clear,  internally  connected  insight  takes  place. 
The  pupil  looks  about  him  at  the  end  of  the  thought  move- 
ment with  surprise;  he  knows  not  what  has  hai)pened  to 
him  ;  he  cannot  survey  the  road  he  has  come ;  he  does  not 
recognize  the  connection  between  the  result  of  the  lesson 
and  his  older  knowledge ;  he  does  not  reach  that  exalted, 
joyous  mental  activity  to  Avhich  he  already  receives  the 
most  favorable  disposition  by  the  mere  announcement  of  a 
definite  aim.  Without  aim,  no  will.  But  a  statement  of 
aim  is  necessary,  not  only  at  the  beginning  of  a  new  unity  ; 
every  recitation  must  in  fact  proceed  from  an  aim.  The 
total  aim  of  the  entire  unity  is  to  be  resolved  into 
special  aims  for  the  different  recitations.  These  special 
aims  can  for  the  most  part  be  discovered  and  stated  by 
the  pui)il. 

Therefore, yjrsi,  statement  of  the  aim,  then  analytical  pre- 


PEDAGOGICAL   APPLICATION.  83 

liminary  discussion.  In  connection  with  the  aim,  which 
inducts  the  child  into  the  midst  of  the  domain  of  the  con- 
cepts in  question,  the  child  may,  with  the  teacher's  assist- 
ance, express  his  thoughts  on  the  points  to  be  considered. 
We  have  above  established  the  demand  that  the  recitation 
must  aim  to  secure  the  most  intimate  connection  of  con- 
cepts. Therefore  the  statements  of  the  children,  which  in 
each  case  appear  more  or  less  detached  and  ragged,  must  be 
closely  articulated  with  one  another,  and  reduced  to  a  series ; 
the  children  are  to  state  the  known  material  connectedly. 
Such  a  summing  up  of  the  analytical  material  lays  solid 
ground  for  the  teaching  that  is  to  follow.  Although  we 
will  gladly  concede  that  many  teachers  begin  the  recitation 
with  a  preparation,  yet  we  cannot  admit  that  we  agree  as  to 
the  manner  of  such  preparation.  Often  the  preparation 
consists  in  an  address.  In  this  manner  teachers  easily 
commit  the  error  of  stating  new  facts  that  might  better  be 
reserved  to  a  later  stage.  But  disregarding  this  point, 
they  do  not  secure  that  degree  of  mental  activity  and  inter- 
est which  is  necessary  for  the  success  of  the  recitation. 
But  if  opportunity  is  given  to  the  child  to  express  him- 
self concerning  his  home  and  street  experiences,  the  most 
frigid  intellect  will  begin  to  thaw  out ;  the  new  lesson  ap- 
pears in  an  interesting  setting  and  has  gained  a  point  of 
expectant  attention.  Besides,  the  teacher  should  never 
relieve  the  child  of  an  activity  that  the  latter  can  easily 
perform  himself,  and  l)y  means  of  which  there  is  in- 
variably produced  a  certain  feeling  of  power  and  of  self- 
reliance. 

Eelief  has  also  been  sought  in  th^  attempt  to  interweave 
the  known  material  with  the  presentation.  But  in  this  way 
we  expect  the  child  to  do  two  things  at  once,  to  recall  the 
old,  and  piecemeal  to  unite  the  new  with  it.  Both  parts 
suffer  by  this  arrangement.      The  older  material  does  not 


84  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

become  clear  enough  to  attract  the  new  fully  and  entirely ; 
the  foundation  upon  which  we  are  to  continue  to  build  is 
not  firm  enough,  and  the  connection  is  not  permanent.  If 
one  would  make  the  old  sufficiently  clear,  the  progress  of 
the  lesson  suffers  by  it,  and  every  one  knows  that  pupils 
suffer  ennui  when  no  progress  is  made.  A  historical  lect- 
ure for  instance,  which  could  presuppose  nothing,  would  be 
a  very  monstrosity,  and  would  leave  upon  the  pupil  about 
the  same  painful  and  wearisome  impression  which  a  poem 
provided  with  countless  annotations,  or  a  text  covered  with 
learned  explanations,  makes  upon  the  reader.  For  as  often 
as  the  address  is  interrupted  to  make  explanations,  so  often 
occurs  a  stagnation  in  the  flow  of  thought  in  the  child ;  the 
survey  also  is  lost,  which  is  such  an  essential  part  of  the 
act  of  understanding. 

But  it  is  totally  impractical  to  add  the  known  ideas 
immediately  after  the  new  has  been  presented.  This  is 
nothing  more  than  putting  the  cart  before  the  horse.  For 
the  new  that  found  no  points  of  contact  has  already  dis- 
appeared in  part,  and  a  subsequent  reminding  of  what  is 
familiar  only  indicates  the  effort  to  correct  an  error  which 
should  not  have  been  committed. 

"When  the  preparation  has  been  properly  made,  and  to  a 
certain  extent  an  inttdlectual  appetite  created,  when  the  old 
concepts  stand,  as  it  were,  ready  to  "  pounce  upon  the  new 
ideas  to  sieze  and  overpower  them,"  then,  and  not  till  then, 
can  the  presentation  of  the  nem^  which  is  the  second  stage 
(synthesis)  of  the  elaboration,  be  truly  successful. 

The  presentation  assumes  various  forms  according  to  the 
age  of  the  pupils  and  the  nature  of  the  subject-matter. 
According  to  Ziller,  a  fairy-tale  is  to  be  pi'esented  in  the 
primary  grade  orally  in  story  form,  a  language  selection  is 
to  be  read  to  older  pupils,  a  geographical  subject  is  to  be 
presented  by  means  of  speaking  and  drawing ;  a  physical 


PEDAGOGICAL   APPLICATION.  85 

process,  by  experiment  and  discussion.^  If  the  preparation 
has  been  of  the  right  sort,  the  reception  and  appropriation 
of  the  new  will  take  place  with  ease  and  certainty  without 
lengthy  explanations  and  interrogations,  so  that  the  pupil, 
according  to  psychological  laws,  feels  himself  mentally 
exalted ;  the  instruction  thus  proves  educative.  To  the 
presentation  must  yet  be  added  drilling  in  what  has  been 
presented  to  render  the  acqu.isition  secure.  This  ends  the 
first  principal  act  of  the  process  of  instruction,  the  process 
of  apperception. 

We  now  come  to  the  second  priyidpal  act.  We  are  now 
to  deduce  abstract  results  upon  the  basis  of  the  acquired 
sense-perception  of  the  concrete  subject-matter.  The  second 
principal  act  therefore  is  the  process  of  abstraction.  For 
the  aim  of  the  school  is,  according  to  Pestalozzi,  to  raise 
the  pupil  from  vague  sense-perceptions  to  clear  conceptions, 
and  Kant  regards  psrcepts  without  concepts  as  blind.  The 
direction  also,  "  From  the  particular  to  the  general,"  merely 
says :  "  Pass  from  the  sense-perception  to  the  concept." 
How  do  concepts  arise  ?  For  a  complete  answer  of  this 
question,  I  refer,  besides  what  is  said  in  the  psychological 
part  of  this  treatise,  to  the  excellent  and  comprehensive 
work  of  Dorpfeld,  from  which  I  select  the  following  illus- 

1  A  slight  difference  exists  between  Ziller  and  Dorpfeld  as  to  the 
treatment  of  tlie  historical  material.  Both  agree  that  the  understanding 
to  be  aimed  at  shall  be  clear,  and  enter  fully  into  details ;  they  are 
further  agreed  that  in  this  connection  oral  communication  and  free 
discussion  shall  go  hand  in  hand.  The  difference  consists  in  the  follow- 
ing :  Ziller  causes  the  historical  unity  under  consideration  to  be  simply 
related  (in  the  upper  grades  read)  by  the  teacher,  and  after  that  fol- 
lows the  discussion.with  a  view  to  getting  a  more  detailed  understanding. 
Dorpfeld,  on  the  contrary,  requires  that  in  all  grades  the  living  word  of 
the  teacher,  not  the  book,  shall  tell  the  story  ;  and  further,  that  this 
relating  shall  from  the  beginning  be  a  precise  and  detailed  story,  yet 
such  that  discussion  is  combined  with  this  statement,  step  by  step. 


86  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF   HEliBART. 

tration :  If  the  pupil  is  to  acquire  the  concept  "Labiates," 
we  must  show  him  sevei-al  plants  (from  the  various  genera) 
of  this  family.  If  now,  unintentionally  or  guided  by  the 
teacher,  the  attention  is  directed  to  the  fact  that  those 
plants  have  many  characteristics  in  common,  in  this  in- 
stance square  stems,  opposite  leaves,  axillary  position  of 
flowers,  irregular  calyx,  irregular  corolla,  etc.,  and  if  these 
common  characteristics  are  fastened  in  the  mind  correctly, 
the  concept  of  Labiates  is  complete,  even  though  the  name 
be  yet  wanting.  The  forming  of  concepts  rests  upon  the 
comparison  of  similar  (therefore  differing)  objects. 

The  stage  at  which  this  happens  may  be  called  the  stage 
of  comparison,  or,  since  several  concepts  are  knotted  to- 
gether, the  stage  of  attachment,  or  association.  Aside  from 
the  value  of  relating  thought  for  the  purpose  of  concept- 
forming,  it  is  necessary  in  order  to  bring  cohesion,  or  unity, 
into  the  thought-content.  Our  entire  personality  consists 
in  the  unity  of  consciousness,  which  is  disturbed  when  the 
mind  is  clouded  by  an  incoherent  jumble,  and  unrelated 
concept-masses  come  to  rest  side  by  side. 

But  as  the  abstract  is  still  combined  with  the  concrete  — 
is  not  yet  clearly  loosed  from  it  —  the  fourth  stage,  by 
means  of  questions,  lifts  out  the  abstract  results  clearly  and 
sharply  from  the  individual  cases,  formulates  them  for  the 
use  of  speech,  brings  them  into  systematic  cohesion  among 
themselves  and  with  the  older  abstract  material,  thus 
securely  impressing  what  hcis  been  acquired  (stage  of  sys- 
tem or  generalization). 

If  the  acquisition  of  the  abstract  has  proceeded  in  this 
manner,  the  demand  of  Pestalozzi  has  been  complied  with, 
that  every  concept  must  proceed  from  the  intuition  (sense- 
perception),  and  that  it  must  be  possible  to  reduce  it  back 
again  to  the  same.  Hence  it  follows,  that  concepts  must 
not  be  lightly  given,  because  in  that  case  no  concrete  no- 


PEDAGOGICAL   APPLICATION.  87 

tions  would  be  attached  to  them.  Just  as  intuitions  without 
concepts  are  blind,  so  concepts  that  have  not  grown  from 
the  soil  of  living  sense-perception  are  empty  and  valueless. 
To  give  concepts  first  and  to  fill  them  with  content  after- 
ward, is  an  unnatural  procedure  too  much  in  vogue. 

To  the  fourth  stage  (system)  must  be  added  a  fifth.  It 
is  not  enough  that  the  pupil  has  learned  something;  he 
must  also  learn  to  apply  it,  for  application  does  not  come  of 
itself.  One  has  frecpient  occasion  to  notice  that  children, 
for  example,  who  in  school  manifest  great  skill  in  arithme- 
tic, are  helpless  in  the  presence  of  problems  that  their 
parents  draw  from  the  relations  of  home.  It  follows  from 
this  that  pupils  need  guidance  also  in  tlie  cq^j^Ucation  of 
knowledge.  Therefore  new  objects  (examples)  are  sought 
in  order  to  recognize  in  them  the  concept  (the  rule,  etc.) 
already  acquired ;  tasks  are  assigned  that  are  to  be  per- 
formed by  application  of  the  rule ;  cases  are  offered  from 
history  and  from  life,  in  order  to  allow  the  pupils  to  decide 
whether  a  moral  demand  has  been  complied  with  or  not, 
and  in  the  latter  case,  to  liave  it  stated  what  tlie  conduct 
ought  to  have  been,  or  the  children  are  led  into  suppose  1 
situations  and  the  demand  is  made  of  them  to  indicate  how 
they  would  act  under  the  given  circumstances  (imagine  1 
acting,  stage  of  application). 

Let  us  now  illustrate  these  five  steps  by  an  example. 
We  will  suppose  we  are  to  treat  the  story  of  "Joshua's 
Farewell  and  Death."  We  must  first  establish  our  aim. 
The  pupils  may  indicate  occasions  when  farewells  are  said 
and  what  expressions  are  used  (analysis).  Then  would 
follow  the  presentation  of  the  details  of  the  story  (syn- 
thesis). Kext,  the  farewell  of  Joshua  would  be  compared 
with  the  parting  of  Moses  (association),  the  most  valuable 
moral  or  religious  features  selected  from  both  occasions  and 
fixed  by  a  suitable  quotation,  such  as,  "I  and  my  house,  we 


88  THE   PEDAGOGY  OF   IIERBART. 

will  serve  the  Lord "  (system).  Finally,  situations  are 
found  in  life  where  these  words  spring  from  the  hearts  of 
devout  men  (application). 

Since  every  concrete  lesson-unity  may  be  treated  accord- 
ing to  these  stages,  whether  it  belongs  to  historical  material, 
or  to  natural  science,  to  geography,  penmanship  or  drawing ; 
and  since  these  stages  are  independent  of  the  material, 
they  are  called  formal  stages.  Herbart  included  analysis 
and  synthesis  in  the  term  clearness;  he  therefore  counts  but 
four  steps.  Dorpfeld,  who  agrees  with  Ziller's  view  in  the 
matter,  has  endeavored  to  build  a  bridge  for  those  to  whom 
this  method  of  elaboration  seems  too  complicated.  He 
shows  that  in  these  five  stages  there  are  three  principal 
operations,  which  were  known  in  the  earlier  practice  since 
Pestalozzi,  and  were  here  and  there  in  use,  viz.,  observing, 
thinking  (abstracting)  and  applying.  But  there  was  lack- 
ing, in  the  first  place,  the  application  of  these  principal 
operations  to  some  of  the  branches,  and  in  the  second  place, 
the  division  of  the  thinking  process  into  association  and 
system.  Dorpfeld  therefore  counts  three  principal  steps, 
the  first  two  of  which  he  subjects  to  a  subdivision.  Eein 
follows  the  above-given  enumeration  of  Ziller,  but  uses 
German  names.  Professor  Vogt  also  holds  to  the  enumera- 
tion of  Ziller,  but  for  the  word  method  he  employs  the  more 
significant  ex-pvession.  function.  If  we  begin  with  the  sim- 
plest enumeration  we  shall  have  the  following  scheme  :  — 


and 


Dorpfeld. 

Heebaet  and  Ziller. 

Rein. 

1. 

Observing : 

1.  Clearness: 

1. 

Preparation. 

a.  Introduction. 

a.  Analysis. 

2. 

Presentation. 

b.  Observation. 

b.  Synthesis. 

3, 

Association     i 

2. 

Thinking : 

2.  Association. 

Comparison. 

a.  Comparison. 

3.  System. 

4. 

Generalization, 

b.  Association. 

4.  Method  (Function). 

5. 

Application. 

3. 

Applying. 

PEDAGOGICAL   APPLICATION.  89: 

After  we  have  shown  the  general  nature  of  the  formal 
STEPS,  it  remains  to  make  a  few  special  remarks.  The  aim 
must  contain  something  familiar  and  something  new,  for 
the  reason  that  instruction  must  make  connection  with  it, 
but  also  because,  as  Herbart  remarks,  "  a  happy  mixture  of 
the  new  with  the  old  interests  most."  It  may  take  tlie 
form  of  a  proposition,  of  a  question  to  determine  our  men- 
tal position  (and  which  does  not  require  an  answer,  but  is 
intended  merely  to  direct  the  mind  to  the  point  in  ques- 
tion), or  of  a  task.  Merely  formal  declarations  of  aim, 
such  as,  "we  will  to-day  learn  about  the  following  para- 
graph," have  no  value  whatever,  because  they  neither 
direct  the  thoughts  nor  challenge  the  will.  If  the  aim  is 
not  fully  reached  in  one  recitation,  the  pupils  must  be 
reminded  of  it  in  the  next,  and  a  special  aim  established 
for  the  remainder  of  the  work.  Analysis  and  synthesis 
must  be  kept  clearly  distinct,  as  their  mixture  always  re- 
sults in  checks  and  disturbances  in  the  thought  movement 
obstructing  clearness  of  conception.  Analysis  must  be 
applied  to  the  entire  content  of  the  new ;  it  mxist,  in  a 
sense,  construct  a  parallel  with  which  the  new  may  unite 
all  along  the  line.  Though  one  must  be  on  his  guard  lest 
a  part  of  the  new  appear  already  in  analysis,  yet  the  pupil 
may  be  permitted  to  anticipate  results  and  make  conject- 
ures. For,  whether  the  expected  takes  place  or  not,  the 
coincidence  as  well  as  the  contrast  is  favorable  to  acquisi- 
tion. The  presentation  of  the  new  upon  the  stage  of  syn- 
thesis takes  place  "by  sections  (law  of  successive  clearness). 
After  one  section  has  been  presented,  this  is  to  be  restated 
by  the  pupil  connectedly.  As  the  first  restatement  is 
usually  still  imperfect,  it  is  supplemented  by  a  discussion 
(correction  and  completion) ;  thereupon  the  same  pupil  is 
to  give  the  synopsis  again,  and  if  successful,  other  pupils, 
even  weaker  ones,  are  to  be  encouraged  to  make  the  restate- 


90  THE  PEDAGOGY   OF   HERBART. 

ment.  In  the  same  manner  the  other  parts  of  the  unity  are 
treated,  properly  connected  with  the  preceding,  and  finally 
stated  by  the  pupil  as  his  complete  impression.  When  the 
pupil  has  accpiired  the  facts,  he  must  be  led  to  form  judg- 
ments con',;erning  will-relations  that  may  possibly  be  con- 
tained in  th^.  concrete  material.  Association  must  not  be 
applied  aimlessly  to  everything  possible ;  it  must  rather  be 
directed  toward  valuable  thought  connections.  So  far  as 
the  selection  of  the  abstract  is  concerned,  the  aim  must  be 
directed  only  to  what  is  characteristic  ;  and  where  our  moral 
conduct  is  concerned,  to  that  which  is  expressed  in  the  form 
of  sayings,  proverbs,  quotations,  etc.  In  the  case  of  natu- 
ral history  and  geographical  material,  the  separation  of  the 
abstract  consists  in  a  brief  yet  comprehensive  statement 
of  the  subject,  including  everything  essential,  excluding  all 
non-essentials. 

"  Strange  as  the  arrangement  of  instruction  according  to 
the  formal  steps  may  appear  at  first  sight,  yet  it  is  by  no 
means  entirely  new.  It  asserts  itself  in  every  good  recita- 
tion in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  only,  the  mere  empiricist 
bases  it,  not  upon  psychology,  which  must  permeate  the 
entire  process  of  learning,  but  rather  upon  a  certain  instinct 
of  tact,  which  he  has  acquired  by  long  experience,  the  rea- 
sonableness of  which,  however,  he  is  unable  to  demonstrate. 
The  methods  of  instruction  followed  by  the  Herbart-Ziller 
school  elevate  this  obscure  feeling  to  a  clear  and  definite 
pedagogical  idea.  Every  step  in  the  recitation  is  exactly 
prescribed  by  psychological  laws  solidly  established.  A 
highly  important  matter  which  previously  had  been  left  to 
the  care  of  a  feeling  of  happy  tact,  has  by  one  stroke  been 
brought  into  such  clearness  that  it  is  capable  of  illumining 
the  entire  method  of  instruction"  (Eein). 

The  articulation  of  the  recitation  according  to  the  formal 
steps  is  omitted  where  but  a  single  point  is  to  be  enforced 


PEDAGOGICAL  APPLICATION.  91 

by  the  recitation,  as  in  the  matter  of  correction  or  reviews, 
or  where  the  material  has  already  been  logically  connected. 

The  teaching  process  should  have  the  form  of  conversa- 
tion, not  that  of  catechism.  Everything  should  be  the 
result  of  a  common  reflection.  Therefore  the  teacher  must 
allow  the  child  freedom  of  expression;  he  should  never 
press  the  child  to  repeat  previously  established  expressions. 
The  questions  should  not  apply  to  single  detached  points, 
but  the  child  must  become  accustomed  to  express  himself 
on  the  topic  in  connected  speech.  If  a  child  has  a  comment 
to  make  on  the  statement  of  his  fellow-pupil,  he  may  raise 
his  hand  of  his  own  accord,  and  the  teacher  gives  him  per- 
mission to  add  his  own  thought.  In  general,  wherever  pos- 
sible, the  teacher  should  withdraw  from  the  discussion  and 
permit  the  pupils  to  settle  it  among  themselves;  in  short, 
he  should  guide  the  discussion  only  formally.  Except  in 
examinations  and  reviews  the  pupil  is  generally  never  com- 
manded to  speak.  The  lesson  should  so  arouse  the  interest 
that  from  most  pupils  voluntary  statements  will  result. 
Yet  the  application  of  this  so-called  method  of  disputation 
requires  great  caution,  especially  in  large  classes. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  education  so  to  form  the  thought- 
complex,  that  volition  will  result  from  it.  But  knowing 
alone  will  not  do  this,  it  must  be  connected  with  interest, 
which  is  the  root  of  volition  ;  in  brief :  education  has  for 
its  aim,  to  produce  knowledge  that  incites  to  volition.  By 
means  of  his  knowledge  the  pupil  must  judge  whether  in 
his  acting  the  purpose  and  means  are  ethically  approvable. 
When  instruction  has  generated  knowledge  that  incites  to 
volition,  and  that  is  controlled  by  ethical  ideas,  its  task  is 
done.  But  with  this  educative  activity  of  instruction  educa- 
tion is  not  yet  concluded.  If  it  did  nothing  more,  it  would 
merely  succeed  in  forming  human  beings,  who,  though  very 
clever  and  knowing  exactly  from  an  ethical  standpoint  what 


92  THE    PEDAGOGY   OF    HERBART. 

to  do  and  what  to  leave  undone,  responding  to  the  good  and 
condemning  the  bad,  might,  nevertheless,  come  into  conflict 
with  ethically  controlled  intelligence,  as  soon  as  the  fulfill- 
ing of  these  ethical  demands  is  to  some  extent  connected 
with  difficulties,  self-denial,  etc.  The  actions  of  such  per- 
sons would  then  be  determined  almost  solely  by  the  circum- 
stances of  each  case,  and  their  volition  would  be  almost  as 
changeable  as  these.  Their  volition  would  never  attain  uni- 
formity ;  it  could  never  be  predicted  of  them  with  certainty, 
how  they  would  act  in  any  given  case.  Such  persons  can 
never  be  relied  upon ;  they  are  a  shaking  reed,  which  the 
wind  of  chance  moves  hither  and  yon. 

From  this  it  follows  that  yet  another  educative  activity 
is  needed,  if  the  entire  volition  is  to  be  always  in  harmony 
with  intelligence  controlled  by  the  ethical  ideas.  This  ac- 
tivity we  call  Training  (Zucht),  or  moral  education,  in  the 
narrower  sense;  we  call  it  also  immediate  character-forming. 
Upon  the  basis  of  correct  knowledge,  which  has  been  ac- 
quired by  means  of  instruction,  it  seeks  to  strengthen  correct 
volition.  "Whence  it  follows,  that  training  can  perform  its 
task  only  when,  and  in  so  far  as,  instruction  has  already  suc- 
ceeded in  doing  its  work.  This  necessitates  a  later  appear- 
ance of  moral  training.^  But  even  before  the  child  possesses 
intelligence  he  must  do  various  things,  omit  various  things. 
He  must  come  to  school  punctually,  must  sit  quietly  during 
the  recitation ;  he  must  not  soil  the  walls,  must  not  destroy 
tlie  furniture,  etc.  It  is  true  the  little  pupil  does  not  come 
tardy  with  bad  intention,  nor  does  he  whisper  or  move 
about  on  account  of  such  intention ;  therefore  these  trans- 

1  This,  however,  must  not  be  understood  to  mean  that  teaching  is  to 
be  entirely  completed  before  training  may  begin  its  work.  It  is  rather 
the  function  of  the  latter  to  enter  at  once  into  the  several  results  of 
instruction,  and  in  this  sense  it  moves  along,  side  by  side,  with  instruc- 
tion. 


PEDAGOGICAL   APPLICATION.  93 

gressions  are  not  subject  to  censure,  ethically,  but  they  are 
not  suited  to  the  work  of  the  school ;  they  are  disturbing, 
and  must,  therefore,  be  avoided.  The  child  under  school 
age  does  not  tear  the  wall-paper  or  his  clothing  on  account 
of  a  bad  disposition,  but  all  the  same  these  naughtinesses 
must  not  be  permitted,  for  they  annoy  and  injure  adults, 
some  of  them  also  the  child  himself;  harmful  habits  are 
thus  easily  formed  for  the  future  (tendency  to  lack  of 
cleanliness,  etc.),  when  this  naughtiness  is  allowed  full 
play.  The  regulation  of  what  the  child  is  to  do  and  to 
avoid  belongs  to  the  idea  of  Government. 

There  are,  therefore,  in  all  three  activities  of  education, 
which,  according  to  the  sequence  of  their  appearance,  form 
the  series.  Government,  Instruction  and  Training. 

Instruction  has  already  been  discussed.  We  will  next 
speak  of 

Government, 

Its  purpose  is  not  really  to  form  character;  it  merely 
seeks  to  keep  order.  Its  purpose  is  to  prevent  everything 
that  might  disturb  instruction  and  training,  annoy  adults, 
and  harm  them  or  the  child,  but  that  is  not  really  bad, 
because  it  does  not  arise  from  a  bad  will. 

How  are  these  tendencies  to  naughtiness  to  be  reached  ? 
Since  they  arise  from  the  desires,  it  is  best  to  stop  up  the 
sources  from  which  the  desires  spring.  If  we  would  not 
have  the  child  restlessly  move  about  in  his  seat,  twist  and 
stretch  himself  (all  of  which  disturbs  the  recitation),  we 
must  not,  in  the  first  place,  challenge  these  movements  by 
prolonging  the  time  of  the  recitation  farther  than  is  just 
and  right,  but  we  must  have  due  consideration  for  the  needs 
of  his  physical  organism.^     If  this  limit  is  not  maintained, 

1  Here  it  is  well  to  think  of  the  significance  of  gymnastics  as  a 
means  of  government. 


94  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

the  desires  will  break  through  the  school  order.  The  con- 
sequence is  that  the  teaching  will  not  succeed,  and  disorderly 
habits  will  be  formed. 

Just  as  government  must  see  to  it  that  the  needed  bodily 
requirements  do  not  act  disturbingly,  so  it  must  take  care  that 
mental  requirements  do  not  produce  confusion  and  disturb- 
ance, or  inconvenience  of  another  kind.  Well  known  in  tliis 
direction  is  the  child's  impulse  to  activity.  If  this  impulse 
is  not  suitably  provided  foi',  it  will  occasion  various  dis- 
turbances. If  a  class,  for  instance,  is  busy  with  the  written 
solution  of  a  task,  and  in  such  a  case  one  child  has  com- 
pleted his  work  before  the  others  and  no  suitable  employ- 
ment is  provided  for  him,  he  will  very  often  provide  him- 
self with  unsuitable  work;  he  will  try  to  whisper  with  his 
neighbor,  spoil  his  books  with  his  lead-pencil,  carve  letters 
into  his  desk,  etc.  Such  mischief  can  be  prevented,  if  the 
child  is  never  left  entirely  without  employment;  in  the 
above  case,  if  the  pupil  is  provided  with  a  new  task,  not 
with  purpose  to  cultivate,  but  merely  to  prevent  mischief 
(which  does  not  exclude  that  the  solution  of  the  task  may 
incidentally  also  have  a  cultivating  effect).  One  of  the 
most  important  employments  as  a  means  of  government  is 
play.  This  secures  the  child  against  idleness  and  ennui, 
preventing,  therefore,  all  forms  of  mischief  that  follow  in 
their  train,  as  well  as  the  growth  of  harmful  habits,  which 
would  otherwise  germinate  in  that  soil. 

A  second  means  of  government  is  superintendence.  The 
mere  presence  of  a  teacher,  especially  of  one  whom  the  chil- 
dren highly  respect  or  to  whom  they  are  strongly  attached, 
is  sufficient  to  keep  them  within  the  necessary  bounds,  to 
prevent  improper  thoughts  from  springing  up,  to  forestall 
all  mischief,  and  to  render  superfluous  all  severer  measures  of 
government.  Very  often  not  even  a  reminder  to  do  or  to  omit 
this  or  that  becomes  necessary.     Eaising  a  finger,  calling  by 


PEDAGOGICAL  APPLICATION.  95 

name  a  child  just  beginning  some  disorder,  is  often  sufficient 
to  recall  the  presence  of  the  teacher,  and  to  nip  in  the  bud 
any  disposition  toward  insubordination.  Watchfulness  of 
the  teacher,  therefore,  is  a  very  excellent  means  of  preserv- 
ing good  order. 

It  becomes  necessary  also  at  times  to  command  and  for- 
bid. This  requires  obedience.  We  can  demand  obedience 
of  a  pnpil  in  a  twofold  sense.  Either  the  pupil  may  be 
asked  to  carry  out  the  will  of  the  teacher  without  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  reasons  which  the  latter  has,  or  else  the  will  of 
the  teacher  is  carried  out,  after  the  pupil,  in  consequence 
of  previous  reflection,  has  made  the  teacher's  will  his  own. 
Government  is  concerned  with  the  obedience  of  the  first  kind, 
which  is  commonly  spoken  of  as  hli)id  obedience,  because 
as  long  and  as  far  as  government  must  be  employed,  under- 
standing is  not  yet  possible.  This  obedience  the  teacher 
may  secure  the  more  easily,  if  he  has  the  love  of  the  pupil 
and  thus  the  means  of  influencing  him.  The  child  obeys 
authority  almost  instinctively.  The  pupil  who  loves  his 
teacher  obeys  so  as  not  to  lose  his  favor,  for  which  he  cares. 

Commands  and  prohibitions  involve,  when  necessary,  re- 
proofs, threats  and  punishments  (loss  of  liberty  or  privi- 
leges, and  in  rare  cases,  corporal  punishment).  But  all 
reproofs  and  threats  must  be  connected  with  no  explanations 
why  this  or  that  is  demanded ;  all  punishments  as  measures 
of  government  must  be  inflicted  without  directing  the  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  the  naughtiness  committed  was  bad,  and 
therefore  reprehensible ;  they  must  be  carried  out  without 
exciting  the  childish  mind ;  they  must  appear  to  the  child 
as  a  natural  consequence  necessarily  following  npon  the  act 
committed.  Thus  the  child  is  made  wiser  and  is  trained. 
For  government  is  not  to  form  character,  but  to  prevent  mis- 
chief. Its  purpose  is  not  really  to  make  better,  but  only 
for  the  nonce  to  deter ;  it  aims  at  order  for  the  moment. 


96  THE  PEDAGOGY   OF   HERBART. 

If  government  succeeds  well,  the  pupil  unconsciously 

accustoms  himself  to  punctuality,  order,  diligence,  cleanli- 
ness, etc.  These  qualities  are  calledmediate  virtues,  because 
in  themselves  they  are  not  yet  good,  but  by  the  method  of 
their  application  may  contribute  to  the  promotion  of  the 
good.  That  diligence,  e.g.,  is  not  a  good  in  itself,  may  be 
seen  in  criminals,  whom  certainly  no  one  will  praise ;  but  it 
becomes  a  virtue,  if  it  finds  application  in  the  service  of  the 
good  (as  when  one  labors  so  that  he  may  have  to  give  to  the 
needy,  etc.). 

Moral  Training. 

It  is  the  care  of  training  to  see  that  the  conduct  of  the 
pupil,  not  only  during  the  time  of  education,  but  also  later  in 
life,  is  in  accordance  with  the  ethical  judgment,  and  not 
contrary  to  it.  Training  therefore  must  see  to  it  that  the 
volition  of  the  pupil  receives  its  tendency  from  the  ethical 
ideas,  that  every  subsequent  volition  shall  bear  the  imprint 
of  a  xjersonality  which  has  placed  its  volition  exclusively  in 
their  service. 

How  is  such  a  tendency  established  ? 

In  order  to  make  this  clear,  we  must  recall  the  nature 
of  volition.  Volition  springs  from  the  desires,  when  with 
these  is  coupled  the  conviction  that  the  thing  desired  can  be 
attained.  The  volition  is  therefore  preceded  by  a  reflection, 
which  may  concern  itself  also  with  the  duties,  considera- 
tions, etc.,  that  are  involved.  From  all  this  will  be  seen 
that  with  every  volition  a  considerable  number  of  concepts 
is  simultaneously  raised  into  consciousness.  In  consequence 
of  this  reproduction,  these  concepts  assume  the  character  of 
belonging  together.  The  attainment  of  the  thing  desired  is 
coupled  with  a  feeling  of  pleasure ;  an  image  of  the  volition 
remains  behind  in  the  soul,  having  the  impulse  to  become  as 


PEDAGOGICAL   APPLICATION.  97 

clear  as  possible,  i.e.,  to  reproduce  tlie  feeling  of  pleasure  that 
manifested  itself  at  the  time  of  the  first  volition.  Such  a  will- 
image,  created  by  a  single  act,  is  called  a  single  volition 
(Einzelwollung) .  The  of  tener  an  identical  act  of  volition  is 
repeated,  the  stronger  becomes  the  single  volition,  and  soon 
a  habit  of  definite  action  is  formed,  a  habit,  from  which,  if  it 
has  been  fostered  sufficiently  long,  we  cannot  loose  ourselves. 
Let  us  assume  that  such  a  will-image,  or  single  volition, 
has  been  formed  in  the  soul.  Now  let  a  new  volition,  merely 
similar  to  the  earlier,  spring  up  in  the  mind.  Then,  accord- 
ing to  the  law  of  similarity,  a  movement  takes  place  among 
the  concepts  determining  the  earlier  volition,  and  with  these 
the  will-image  then  acquired  rises.  This  will-image  strives 
to  attain  clearness,  and  now  tests  the  new  volition ;  it  finds 
that  the  latter  tends  in  the  same  direction,  and  that  by  the 
realization  of  the  latter,  the  impulse  dwelling  in  the  older 
will-image,  though  not  in  all  the  details,  yet  in  a  general 
way,  is  gratified,  and  now  the  new  volition  is  aided  by  the 
older  image,  so  that  it  attains  to  realization  much  more  vig- 
orously than  would  otherwise  have  been  the  case.  There 
are  now  in  existence  two  similar  will-images  that  are  mutu- 
ally related,  just  like  similar  (compound)  concepts.^  Just 
as  in  the  latter  the  new  elements  unite  to  form  a  new  con- 
cept, the  psychic  or  logical  notion,  just  so  the  identical 
members  of  the  individual  acts  of  volition  mutually  grasp 
one  another,  and,  as  they  repress  the  contradictory,  irrecon- 
cilable elements  that  are  contained  in  the  concepts  forming 
their  basis,  they  fuse  into  a  new  will-image,  which  appears 
not  only  much  more  vigorous,  more  vivid  and  more  char, 
but,  as  the  individual  peculiarities  of  the  single  volitions 


1  For  the  sake  of  clearness  we  think  at  first  of  the  will-image  as 
still  apart ;  in  reality  the  union  takes  place  alreatly  duriiuj  the  act  of 
volition. 


98  THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

have  beea  kept  at  a  distance  from  it,  also  more  refined. 
From  the  single  volition  tliere  has  been  formed  a  more  general 
volition  which  may  be  compared  to  the  psychic  concept. 
Each  new  similar  volition  renders  yet  more  general  the 
volition  that  has  already  been  generalized  just  as  the  psychic 
concept  is  made  more  general  by  further  intuitions,  thus 
approaching  the  logical  concept.  From  the  fusion  of  single 
volitions  universal  volitions  are  formed. 

In  the  preceding  we  have  assumed  that  the  existing 
image  of  the  single  volition  is  approached  by  a  similar 
volition.  How  does  the  psychic  process  unfold  when  the 
new  will  is  opposed  to  the  older  will-image  ?  The  earlier 
acquired  will-image  is  (perhaps)  reproduced  in  this  case 
by  the  law  of  contrast  and  tests  the  new  volition ;  it  finds 
that  the  latter  does  not  tend  in  its  (the  former's)  direction, 
that  it  even  strives  against  the  degree  of  clearness  already 
achieved  by  the  former,  and  therefore  the  former  suppresses 
it.  If  every  volition  that  is  opposed  to  the  previously 
acquired  will-image  is  not  suppressed,  it  is  because  the 
earlier  will-image  is  not  reproduced  at  all,  or  not  with  suf- 
ficient force ;  memory  of  knowledge  is  in  this  case  but  weak 
or  entirely  lacking. 

The  memory  of  the  will  (reproduction  of  the  will-image) 
is  based,  as  we  have  seen,  upon  the  excitation  of  the  concepts 
by  whose  co-operation  the  will-image  was  produced.  If  the 
will-image  is  to  appear  distinct,  strong,  the  concepts  must 
be  associated  very  intimately.  This  is  the  case,  for  in- 
stance, when  it  has  been  produced  after  energetic,  thorough 
reflection.  A  volition  that  has  cost  us  much  reflection  we 
recall  very  distinctly.  Then,  again,  the  entire  thought-com- 
plex must  be  so  closely  connected  that  the  concepts  in  ques- 
tion may  be  instantly  set  in  motion,  so  that  the  influence  of 
the  will-image  upon  the  new  volition  may  not  come  too  late. 
The   will-image  comes   forth   clearly,  only  when  the  new 


PEDAGOGICAL   APPLICATION.  99 

volition  has  already  expressed  itself  in  action.  When  the 
latter  has  happened,  the  old  will-image  finds  a  new  com- 
pleted one,  dissimilar  to  itself,  and  the  result  of  the  juxta- 
position is  an  arrest  of  endeavor  to  attain  clearness  on  the 
part  of  the  older  will-image.  This  arresting  causes  a  feeling 
of  displeasure  (repentance).  If,  on  the  contrary,  the  older 
will-image  is  reproduced  rapidly  and  vividly  enough,  it  will 
remand  the  opposing  volition,  because  this  cannot  satisfy 
the  impulse  to  clearness  residing  in  the  former.  From  what 
has  been  said,  it  follows  that  the  memory  of  the  will  de- 
pends upon  the  close  connection  of  the  concepts,  i.e.,  upon 
orderliness  in  concept  life.  Here  it  is  plainly  seen  what 
influence  education  exerts  upon  the  memory  of  the  will,  and 
as  we  shall  see  still  more  clearly  in  the  course  of  this  dis- 
cussion, upon  the  entire  culture  of  the  will. 

We  must  now  examine  yet  more  closely  how  the  testing 
of  the  new  volition  by  the  older  generalized  will-image  takes 
place.  While  both  series  of  concepts  forming  the  basis  of 
volition  stand  arrayed  against  each  other  for  a  time,  the 
older  and  stronger  of  them,  i.e.,  that  one  in  which  the  gen- 
eral volition  resides,  tests  the  younger,  weaker  one,  to  see 
whether  it  have  a  sufficient  number  of  rehited  elements  to 
warrant  a  fusion  of  both  thought-masses.  If  this  is  not  the 
case,  if  they  contrast  in  several  essential  members,  and 
therefore  the  single  volition  cannot  be  apperceived  by  the 
general  volition,  the  latter  rejects  the  former  as  inadmis- 
sible. A  certain  purpose  is  then  given  up  because  "  We 
have  considered  the  matter  in  a  different  light."  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  single  volition  agrees  in  the  essentials  with 
the  general  volition,  a  fusion  of  the  two  takes  place,  in 
other  words  an  aj^peixeption.  The  thought-masses  thus 
united  now  develop  a  total  force  of  endeavor  such  as  the 
sin'^le  volition  n^ver  could  have  attained,  and  which  secure 
to  it  a  high  degree  of  energy  and  power  to  resist ;  while,  on 


100         THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

the  other  hand,  the  general  volition  is  strengthened  by  the 
apperceived  single  volition. 

The  result  of  examination  of  the  newer  concept  series  by 
the  older  with  reference  to  its  apperceivability  is  a  judg- 
ment, whether  the  new  individual  volition  be  in  harmony 
with  the  general  volition  or  not,  and  as  the  general  volition 
strives  to  come  into  clearness,  the  judgment  implies  for  the 
new  volition  also  a  command  or  a  prohibition,  Such  a  judg- 
ment, implying  a  command  or  a  prohibition,  yet  so  general 
that  it  applies  not  only  to  a  single  case,  but  to  an  entire 
class  of  like  cases,  is  called  a  j^ractical  principle,  or  maxim. 

,He  who  in  youth  is  trained  to  give  drink  to  the  thirsty, 
food  to  the  hungry,  etc.,  will  develop  a  habit  of  volition 
that  is  in  harmony  with  this  general  volition ;  every  indi- 
vidual volition  which  militates  against  the  latter  is  turned 
back,  repressed,  A  general  judgment  has  been  formed, 
which  in  every  similar  case  is  perceived  by  him  who  per- 
forms the  act  of  volition,  in  the  form  of  a  command  or 
a  prohibition.  This  judgment  (this  practical  principle,  or 
maxim)  is :  "  Help  your  neighbor  in  trouble,"  As  this 
proposition  fits  all  cases  of  human  life  that  feelong  here,  it 
becomes  for  the  person  a  norm  for  all  future  volition  that 
belongs  to  this  class,  "When  it  has  become  a  psychic  power, 
the  tendency  of  an  entire  class  of  volitions  answering  the 
ethical  demand  is  secured  for  the  future. 

If  the  ethical  principle  is  to  be  a  power  that  shall  dom- 
inate the  individual  volition,  it  is  not  sufficient,  as  may  be 
seen  from  what  has  been  said,  that  it  be  merely  committed 
to  memory  or  learned  by  dictation.  If  the  maxim  is  to 
endure  through  life,  it  must  have  come  into  existence  through 
life  a,ud  from  life;  true  maxims  are  always  the  expression 
of  a  piece  of  autobiography,  Maxims  that  have  their  source 
in  tlioughtful  reflection  (i.e.  in  the  class-room)  must  first 
become  vitalized  in  order  to  become  genuine  maxims.     By 


PEDAGOGICAL   APPLICATION.  101 

frequent  application  a  firm,  reliable  habit  based  upon  the 
understanding  must  be  formed. 

Training  must  see  to  it,  as  far  as  possible,  that  all  classes 
of  volition  are  placed  under  the  dominion  of  ethical  maxims, 
in  order  that  a  quiet,  uniformly  distributed  passion  for  the 
good  be  produced.  If  the  ethical  principles  possess  such 
influence  in  the  mind  of  the  person  that  they  dominate  the 
entire  individual  volition,  we  speak  of  a  moral  character. 
Character  in  general  is  uniformity  and  firmness  of  the 
entire  will.  When  bad  principles  are  the  dominating  power 
in  the  mind,  the  character  is  an  immoral  one.  A  person 
who  is  not  at  all  consistent,  i.e.,  does  not  act  according  to 
principles,  either  good  or  bad,  is  characterless.  Children 
possess  no  character ;  in  their  minds  it  can  but  gradually 
come  into  being.  What  they  would  do  or  omit,  have  or  do 
without,  endure  or  not  endure,  is  not  governed  consistently 
by  ethical  principles.  The  beginning  of  the  formation  of 
such  consistency  or  uniformity  of  action  coincides  with  the 
formation  of  independent  general  ethical  volitions  that  have 
sprung  up  on  the  basis  of  several  similar  acts  of  volition. 
These  general  volitions  are  the  points  of  crystallization  in 
the  confusion  of  individual  volitions,  the  latter  of  which  are 
attracted  and  apperceived  by  the  former,  providing  their 
structure  permits  this.  These  general  volitions,  which 
begin  to  determine,  i.e.,  to  apperceive,  or  to  suppress,  the 
individual  volitions,  form  the  beginning  of  that  which  is 
called  the  subjective  part,  the  subjective  basis,  of  character. 
This  phase  of  character  has  its  origin  in  the  volition  that 
springs  from  the  apperceiving  concept-inass ;  opposed  to  it 
is  the  objective  part,  the  individual  volition,  which  springs 
from  the  various  desires.  The  subjective  part  of  character 
determines ;  the  objective  is  the  part  to  be  determined. 
From  the  remarks  concerning  the  nature  of  interest,  the 
deep  significance  of  instruction  for  the  objective  phase  of 


102  THE   PEDAGOGY   OF   HERBART. 

character  becomes  at  once  apparent.  The  aim  of  instruc- 
tion is  a  many-sided  interest ;  from  this  results  the  many- 
sided  volition.  So  far  as  the  subjective  side  of  character 
is  concerned,  it  is  the  task  of  instruction  in  conjunction 
with  training  to  see  to  it  that  not  several  such  dominating 
thought-groups,  either  side  by  side,  or  following  one  another, 
come  into  power,  but  that  the  unity  of  that  group  becomes 
established  upon  which  rest  the  energy  and  consequence 
of  volition  peculiar  to  the  character,  and  by  means  of  which 
also  a  restraint  may  be  placed  upon  the  dominion  of  the 
passions. 

We  shall  now  speak  of  the  method  of  procedure  in  Train- 
ing. It  is  the  task  of  immediate  character-forming  (train- 
ing) in  every  sphere  to  place  the  pupil  in  such  situations 
and  to  open  to  his  interest  such  opportunities  as  will  enable 
him  to  act  with  success  in  accordance  with  his  own  thoughts. 
But  these  opportunities  must  not  be  so  manifold  at  one 
time  that  the  memory  of  the  will  suffers.  The  latter  is  pro- 
duced only  when  acts  of  volition  of  a  like  kind  are  often 
repeated.  Hence  it  is  demanded  that  training  shall  form 
the  will  of  the  pupil  in  relations  of  one  kind.  In  well-ordered 
communities  (tlierefore  in  direct  contrast  with  a  life  upon 
the  street),  where  the  right,  according  to  Goethe,  is  not 
regarded  as  medicine,  but  belongs  to  the  diet  of  life,  a 
constant,  even  and  regularly  recurring  mode  of  action  may 
be  inaugurated,  and  it  is  precisely  this  that  is  essential ; 
for  not  an  isolated,  scattered  action  of  will  is  to  be 
allowed  to  spring  up,  but  an  active,  consistent  volition  is 
to  arise,  and  for  this  it  is  most  essential  that  every  voli- 
tion come  into  strict  accord  with  habit  and  regularity, 
into  strict  accord  with  memory.  Thus  we  have  a  volition 
into  which  memory  has  entered,  i.e.,  one  in  which  the 
individual  need  not  first  reflect  what  and  how  he  must 
act,  but  rather  one  in  which  this  is  all  determined  before- 


PEDAGOGICAL  APPLICATION.  103 

hand  in  every  instance.  Where  the  memory  of  the  will  is 
wanting  and  frivolity  takes  its  place,  it  behooves  us  to 
train  the  pupil  by  restraining  and  co/istraining  in  order 
that  a  conformity  and  uniformity  of  volition  may  result. 
Training  presupposes  authority  and  love.  What  the  pupil 
has  lost  sight  of,  it  must  recall  to  him.  To  his  wavering 
and  straying  it  must  constantly  give  outward  steadiness 
and  uniformity,  and  the  latter  must  be  clearly  illustrated 
for  the  children  in  the  conduct  of  the  teacher.  But  here 
we  must  not  substitute  reasoning  for  the  establishment  of 
habit.  The  children  ought  not  to  be  argued  with.  As  a 
second  effect,  training  should  be  determining.  It  should 
cause  the  pupil  to  choose  for  himself,  not  the  teacher  for 
him,  for  it  is  the  character  of  the  latter  that  is  to  be  deter- 
mined. When  the  subjective  part  of  character  begins  to 
appear,  then  begins  the  negative  phase  of  training.  Though 
one  ought  not  to  argue  with  children,  yet,  as  soon  as  the 
pupil  begins  to  reason  for  himself,  such  reasoning  must  not 
be  abandoned  to  itself.  The  teacher  must,  reasoning,  fall 
in  with  the  argument,  and  prevent  a  wrong  conclusion. 
But  the  chief  consideration  for  training  is  the  consequence 
or  inconsequence  of  acting. 

Finally,  training  is  at  the  proper  time  to  warn  and  reprove, 
even  though  the  pupil  has  already  reached  the  point  of  moral 
self-determination.  But  when  the  pupil  has  already  de- 
served confidence,  not  only  for  his  purposes,  but  also  for  his 
principles,  then  training  jnust  retire.  When  self-education 
has  once  been  assumed,  it  should  not  be  disturbed. 

This  would  be  the  form  of  training,  if  it  were  based 
merely  upon  the  moral  law  which  is  to  be  developed  into 
conscience.  As  we  have  seen  in  the  discussion  of  instruc- 
tion, education  must  bring  into  co-operation  not  only  the 
idea  of  God,  but  also  religious  thought  and  life  in  general. 
This  co-operation  must  manifest  itself,  therefore,  also  in  the 


104  THE   PEDAGOGY   OF    HERBART. 

measures  adopted  by  training.  That  the  moral  laws  are 
the  will  of  God;  the  child  has  learned  from  previous  instruc- 
tion. When  in  the  course  of  training  a  reminder  becomes 
necessary,  this  takes  the  form  of  an  exhortation  (a  remind- 
ing of  God).  When  it  has  been  previously  mentioned  that 
training  requires  a  constantly  repeated  volition  and  action, 
there  follows  from  its  application  to  the  religious  life  an 
accustoming  to  a  regular  religious  worship,  to  private  prayer, 
to  family  and  public  worship.  Here,  too,  the  blessing  of 
such  revivings  of  the  religious  thought  and  feeling  lies 
not  only  in  their  ardor  but  also  in  their  constancy.  It  is  a 
great  blessing  when  a  child  grows  up  in  a  community  where 
these  exercises  of  the  religious  sense  belong  to  "  the  diet  of 
life." 

Queries. 

1.  In  what  points  does  the  pedagogy  of  the  Herbartian  school  dif- 
fer from  the  customary  ? 

2.  Where  are  there  points  of  contact  ? 

3.  What  may  be  urged  in  favor  of  opposing  views  ? 


PART  IV. 

SPECIAL   METHODS.     EXAMPLES   OF  CONCEN- 
TRATION. 

A.     EPOCH  — VOYAGES   OF  DISCOVERY. 

I.    Charactee-forming  Material. 

According  to  the  reasoning  of  Ziller,  material  for  char- 
acter-forming must  constitute  the  nucleus  of  the  entire 
curriculum,  and  in  accordance  with  this  view  central  studies 
have  been  established  for  each  school  year  that  represent 
in  their  sequence  the  development  of  human  society, 
through  which  every  individual  must  pass.  The  character- 
forming  material  for  the  public  school  from  the  beginning 
of  the  third  school  year  consists  of  two  parallel  series,  one 
of  which  belongs  to  sacred,  the  other  to  profane  history. 

The  religious  character-forming  material  for  the  sixth 
year  is  the  life  of  Christ.  Parallel  to  this  we  have  first  the 
history  of  the  voyages  of  discovery  and  then  the  life  of 
Luther,  the  renovator  of  the  Christian  church. 

If  we  seek  how  to  make  connections  between  these  two 
series,  we  find  abundant  opportunity  to  do  so  between  the 
life  of  Christ  and  that  of  Luther.  But  less  numerous  are 
the  connections  between  the  life  of  Christ  and  the  story  of 
the  explorers,  though  they  are  by  no  means  altogether  want- 
ing. 

Through  Christ  the  national  narrowness  of  the  King- 
dom of   Heaven  is   removed  once  for  all;    the  heathen 

105 


106         THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

from  the  east  and  from  the  west  are  to  have  a  part  in  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven.  To  such  peoples  as  still  sit  in  dark- 
ness the  travels  of  discovery  call  attention.  The  sending 
forth  of  the  disciples  directs  attention  to  the  mission  of 
the  nations  of  our  Christian  civilization  to  the  heathen, 
and  we  discover  a  most  striking  contrast  between  the  self- 
sicriticing  love  of  Christ  and  the  selfishness  that  mocks 
every  description  of  those  who  bore  his  name. 

The  inoral-religious  reflections  made  at  this  place  also 
throw  light  upon  the  more  recent  attempts  at  colonization 
of  the  German  Empire,  over  which  earnest  men  are  watch- 
ing, lest  in  our  colonies  the  spirit  of  selfishness  that  would 
be  inclined  to  offer  those  children  a  serpent  instead  of  meat 
gain  the  ascendency. 

To  the  character-forming  material  are  now  added  in  ap- 
propriate places,  hymns,  proverbs,  statements  from  the  cat- 
echism, and  other  quotations.  The  selection  is  here  so  easy 
that  we  refrain  from  a  statement  of  details. 

II.    German. 

(a)  Of  reading  material  there  is  no  lack.  The  story  of 
the  life  of  Christ  and  tales  of  travels  and  voyages  of  dis- 
covery are  used  for  this  purpose.  Besides  these  poems  we 
have  both  such  as  are  to  be  read  cursorily  and  those  that 
are  to  receive  an  exhaustive  treatment. 

(6)  Poems.  In  connection  with  the  intercourse  between 
the  Spaniards  and  Islanders  is  to  be  read  Seume's  poem, 
"The  Savage,"  which  is  to  be  considered  especially  from 
the  standpoint  of  true  and  false  culture.  (Kousseau's 
dictum:  "Go  into  the  forest  and  become  men.")  In  this 
poem  the  Indians  are  placed  in  a  too  favorable  light ;  hence 
a  proper  correction  must  be  made,  for  which  the  geography 
lesson  will  also  offer  abundant  opportunity. 


SPECIAL   METHODS.  107 

The  Spaniards  expect  great  things  of  the  newly  discovered 
world  and  emigrate  in  large  numbers,  but  are  bitterly  dis- 
appointed. Here  Freiligrath's  poem,  "  The  Emigrants,"  is 
in  place.  , 

Columbus  navigates  the  sea,  whose  characteristics,  surface 
of  bottom,  inhabitants,  etc.,  are  discussed  in  the  recitations 
of  other  branches  of  study.  Thus  there  are  also  offered 
connections  for  Schiller's  "Diver."  Connected  with  this, 
on  account  of  relationship  of  the  ideas,  may  be  "The  Glove," 
"  The  Little  Hydriot,"  by  Mueller. 

Finally  "The  Dirge  of  Nadowessier,"  by  Schiller,  and 
"  Silence  of  the  Sea,"  by  Goethe,  would  also  be  treated. 

(c)  For  German  composition  would  be  furnished  :  — 

1.  A  brief  statement  in  prose  of  the  poem  by  Seume. 

2.  A  comparison  of  the  persons  in  "The  Diver"  and 

those  in  "  The  Glove,"  respectively. 

3.  While  the  pupils  are  reading  about  Columbus, 

they  arrange  a  list  of  the  principal  character- 
istics of  the  hero,  and  that  according  to  definite 
heads,  as  industry  and  iierseverance,  piety,  no- 
hility  of  mind,  etc.  Some  of  these  heads  are 
afterwards  developed  in  the  form  of  essays. 

4.  Additional  materials  for  composition  are  furnished 

by  descriptions  from  the  realms  of  biography 
and  natural  history,  as  will  soon  be  seen. 

(d)  For  grammatical  instruction  the  correction  of  essays 
will  offer  occasion.  Errors  of  punctuation  will  give  rise 
to  the  discussion  of  the  simpler  forms  of  the  complex 
sentence  and  the  distinction  of  the  latter  from  the  contracted 
sentence. 

(e)  In  the  realm  of  the  history  of  literature  the  biography 
of  Freiligrath  belongs,  to  which  will  be  found  points  of 
attachment  in  "  The  Emigrants."  The  poem  was  written  in 
1832,  in  Amsterdam. 


108  THE   PEDAGOGY   OF   HERBART. 

(/)  Prosody.  —  The  poem,  "  The  Savage,"  offers  occasion 
for  the  discussion  of  (1)  Alliteration,  (2)  Assonance.  In 
this  connection  are  developed  the  notions  of 

1.  Paired  and  crossed  rhymes  ; 

2.  The  poly-syndeton  ("and  it  bubbles  and  seethes  and 

it  hisses  and  roars"). 

3.  The  hyberbole  ("the  spray  to  the  welkin  upsoars"). 
The  contrasting  of  the  two  poems  will  show  that  rhyme 

is  not  essential  to  the  character  of  poetry.  The  circumstance 
that  in  "  The  Diver "  there  is  at  one  time  a  rhyme  of  the 
word  keek  with  weg,  clearly  indicates  that  rhyme  is  a 
matter  of  the  ear,  and  not,  as  the  pupil  might  easily  infer, 
of  the  eye,  because  here  the  word  ^oeg  must  be  pronounced 
week,  in  accordance  with  the  usage  in  vogue  in  some  parts 
of  the  country. 

III.   Geography. 

The  voyages  of  Columbus  lead  to  more  detailed  study  of 
the  ocean,  which  may  be  connected  with  what  the  pupils 
may  yet  remember  in  this  direction  from  the  treatment  of 
the  Crusoe  material.     There  will  come  up  for  discussion :  — 

1.  Open  and  Sargasso  sea ; 

2.  Color  and  movements  of  the  sea; 

3.  Taste  of  salt  water ;  salt  deserts. 

Boys  might  be  interested  in  a  more  careful  investigation 
of  navigation,  again  calling  into  prominence  this  phase  of 
the  Crusoe  material. 

Columbus  sails  over  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  The  name  sug- 
gests the  mythical  Atlantis,  of  which  various  island  groups 
are  regarded  as  the  remains. 


SPECIAL  METHODS.  109 

On  the  ocean  were  found  fragments  of  pumice-stone  ;  this 
leads  to  a  consideration  of  the  volcanic  origin  of  tlie  West 
Indies  and  other  islands,  together  with  their  description. 

The   Lesser   Antilles.      Columbus   first   rests   upon   the 

Canary  Islands. 
Afterward  he  lands  upon  an  islet  of  the  Bahama  Group. 

(Cf.  Natural  History.) 

The  circumstance  that  settlements  are  made  by  the  Span- 
iards upon  the  Greater  Antilles,  necessitates  a  description 
of  these  islands. 

The  treasures  that  Columbus  brings  home  for  his  vindi- 
cation become  the  occasion  for  the  discussion  of  the  theme :  — 

"The  Importance  of  the  Greater  Antilles  for  the  Com- 
merce of  the  World."     (Cf.  Natural  History.) 

From  the  study  of  the  West  Indies,  whose  name  is  ex- 
plained by  the  voyage  of  Columbus,  we  turn  our  attention 
to  the  North  American  Continent,  whose  middle  and  north- 
ern portions  are  described,  while  the  southern  part  remains 
undeveloped  until  the  discussion  of  the  discovery  and  con- 
quest of  Mexico. 

The  poem,  "  The  Savage,"  furnishes  points  of  suggestion 
for  the  discussion  of  the  Indian, — his  form,  character,  relig- 
ion, customs  and  manners,  and  mode  of  living. 

"  The  Emigrants "  gives  opportunity  to  describe  the 
occupations  of  the  farmer,  emigration,  forests,  prairies,  etc. 
By  way  of  contrast  there  is  given  a  description  of  the 
home  and  industrial  life  in  great  cities  (wealth,  luxury, 
industry). 

The  commercial  intercourse  between  the  old  world  and 
the  new  leads  to  the  discussion  of  the  means  of  this  inter- 
course :  —  Steamer  Lines,  Transatlantic  Cable,  Pacific  Rail- 
roads. 


110         THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBAET. 

Upon  his  last  voyage  Columbus  sought  along  the  coast  of 
Central  America  for  a  passage  between  the  Atlantic  and 
the  Pacific  Oceans.  This  offers  occasion  to  describe  the 
country  and  to  mention  the  attempt  (and  recent  failure, — 
Tk.)  to  construct  a  Panama  Canal.  (Promoter;  compari- 
son with  Suez  Canal;  what  advantages  offered  by  each?)  * 

The  plan  of  Columbus  to  reach  India  by  way  of  the 
West  was  conceived  on  the  presupposition  of  the  rotundity 
of  the  earth.  Here  are  points  of  connection  for  the  study 
of  mathematical  geography.  This  same  branch  is  also  re- 
ferred to  in  the  discussion  of :  Trade  Winds,  Ocean  Cur- 
rents, Relations  of  Temperature,  Eclipses  of  the  Moon,  etc. 

IV.  Nature  Studies. 

(a)  Physical  Geography.  —  Columbus  found  in  the  Sar- 
gasso Sea  great  meadows  of  sea-weed. 

1.  Description  of  the  Algae. 

2.  General  view  of  oceanic  vegetation. 

The  fact  that  masses  of  sea-weed  are  torn  loose  and  sink, 
leads  to  the 

OitKJiN-  OF  Coal.  (The  theory  that  refers  the  origin  of 
coal  to  the  carbonization  of  sea-weed  is  ably  defended  by 
Dr.  Friedrich  Mohr,  in  his  "  Geschichte  der  Erde."  Those 
Avho  cannot  accept  this  theory  will  also  take  up  the  dis- 
cussion of  coal  formation  at  this  point.) 

The  carbonization  of  Avoody  liber  is  shown  in  wood 
which  for  some  time  has  been  kept  under  water  and  thus 
cut  off  from  the  air.  Excursions  (when  possible)  to  peat- 
diggings  and  coal  mines. 

Observation  of  differences  between  anthracite  and  bitumi- 
nous coal  and  peat,  with  reference  to  their  origin.  (Again 
consult  Mohr.) 


SPECIAL   METHODS.  Ill 

The  Bahama  Islands  where  Cohimbus  landed  are  of  coral 
formation.  Hence  appears  at  this  point  the  description  of 
organ-pipe  coral.  Connected  with  this  description  of  island- 
forming  corals  is  that  of  the  red  coral,  as  well  as  of  other 
valuable  products  of  the  ocean  bottom.  Mother-of-pearl, 
sponges,  the  shark,  one  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  sea. 

From  the  vegetable  kingdom  is  described  the  sugar-cane  ; 
from  the  mineral  kingdom,  gold,  to  obtain  which,  the  Span- 
iards bent  all  their  energies.     The  latter  might,  however,  be- 
postponed  until  the  conqu3st  of  Mexico  (California)  is  treated.^ 

(b)  Physics.^ — For  his  orientation  upon  the  sea  Columbus 

1  Tobacco  and  the  potato  might  also  be  profitably  treated  at  this 
point.  Considering,  however,  the  abundance  of  materials  that  must 
be  treated,  these  subjects  are  better  postponed  until  the  introduction 
of  these  plants  into  Germany  comes  up  for  discussion. 

2  The  reader  will  have  noticed  that  the  materials  belonging  to  the 
several  branches  of  Natural  Science  vary  greatly  with  respect  to  their 
quantity;  so  that  a  lesson  in  Physics  might  already  be  disposed  of, 
while  the  topic  in  Physical  Geography  is  yet  far  from  completion. 
What  is  to  be  done  in  the  recitation  hour  in  Physics  during  this  time  ? 
How  does  this  arrangement  secure  to  the  several  branches  that  uniform 
progress  which  the  principle  of  concentration  requires?  These  ques- 
tions are  answered  by  placing  on  the  program  of  recitations  but  one 
topic :  Natural  Science.  In  the  hours  set  apart  for  this  the  class  dis- 
cusses whatever  is  necessary,  whether  it  is  descriptive  Geography,  or 
Physics  or  Chemistry.  But  it  must  not  be  thought  that  this  method 
of  procedure  has  been  invented  for  the  benefit  of  Zillerian  Concentra- 
tion ;  it  is  based  rather  upon  the  fact  that  factors  which  must  be 
assigned  to  various  branches  of  Natural  Science  are  in  reality  inter- 
liniied  with  one  another,  so  that  they  must  receive  equal  attention  in 
individual  investigations.  "When  in  this  way  a  quantity  of  natural- 
science  material  has  been  treated,  this  will  be  classified  from  such 
standpoints  as  Natural  Science,  Physics  and  Chemistry,  and  thus 
scientific  order  will  be  brought  into  the  material  that  originally  was 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  pupil  in  its  natural  connections.  Sys- 
tematic arrangement,  therefore,  is  seen  to  be  the  conclusion  of  natural- 
science  instruction. 


112         THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

makes  use  of  the  compass.  This  is  described.  A  sewing- 
needle  is  magnetized  and  brought  into  a  free-swinging  posi- 
tion, whereupon  this  will,  like  the  needle  of  the  compass, 
point  to  the  north.  This  circumstance,  combined  with  the 
fact  that  upon  the  first  voyage  of  Columbus  the  needle 
deviated  in  a  remarkable  manner  toward  the  west,  urges  to 
a  discussion  of  terrestrial  magnetism.  The  whole  subject 
of  magnetism  will  have  to  be  treated  exhaustively  at  this 
point.     (Electro-magnetism  ?) 

The  story  of  the  treasures  of  the  sea  stimvilates  the  in- 
quiry as  to  how  they  are  brought  to  the  surface.  We  must 
therefore  treat :  Diving  and  diving  apparatus,  especially 
the  diving-bell ;  swimming. 

(c)  Chemistry.  In  case  gold  is  discussed,  the  teacher 
should  not  fail  to  point  out  the  distinction  between  the 
precious  and  the  base  metals.  This  leads  esj^ecially  to  the 
oxidizing  of  copper  and  iron.  Breathing  in  the  diving-bell 
and  the  necessity  of  supplj'ing  fresh  air  indicate  the  com- 
position of  air  (Oxygen), 

V.  Arithmetic. 

The  task  of  arithmetic  at  this  stage  is  the  introduction 
to  Fractions.  The  origin  of  fractions  is  shown  in  the  con- 
struction of  a  compass-chart.  The  line  from  north  to  south 
divides  the  circle  into  halves.  The  line  from  west  to  east 
produces  fourths.  A  further  division  produces  eighths, 
then  sixteenths,  and  finally  thirty-seconds,  with  which  the 
division  is  usually  complete.  All  ideas  associated  with  frac- 
tions, such  as  reduction  descending  and  ascending,  etc.,  can 
thus  be  shown  objectively.  To  show  these  last-mentioned 
operations  effectively,  we  may  divide  the  circle  into  degrees 
(cf.  geometry). 

A  further  exercise  will  consist  of  a  similar  division  of  a 
circul  ir  grass-plot  or  of  a  garden-bed. 


SPECIAL   METHODS.  113 

Decimal  fractions  are  regarded  as  complements  of  inte- 
gers. They  can  also  be  treated  in  connection  with  common 
fractions. 

Arithmetical  material  for  common  fractions  is  supplied, 
for  example,  by  measuring  the  alloy  used  in  gold  coins 
(cf.  Nature  study).  Then  may  be  computed,  for  instance, 
what  fraction  of  the  population  of  Cuba  are  (a)  white, 
(6)  colored,  (c)  Asiatic,  (d)  negroes. 

In  computing  by  decimals,  the  results  per  cent  would  be 
sought  in  each  case.  Additional  exercises,  both  in  common 
and  in  decimal  fractions,  might  be  as  follows  :  to  make 
computations  as  to  the  receipts  and  expenditures,  debts, 
imports,  exports  of  the  West  Indies,  also  as  to  the  relative 
numbers  of  inhabitants  and  extent  of  these  islands ;  the 
relative  production  of  tobacco  of  Cuba  and  of  Germany ;  as 
to  the  postal  and  telegraphic  intercourse  between  the  West 
Indies  and  the  various  cities  of  North  America,  etc.       ,, 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  there  is  yet  needed  a  careful 
collation  of  statistical  material,  if  our  arithmetical  teaching 
is  to  draw  its  life  from  thought  study,  though  there  are 
even  now  many  sources  for  this  kind  of  material,  for  in- 
stance, the  statistical  tables  in  the  newer  manuals  of  geog- 
raphy, encyclopaedias,  etc.  (Texts  recommended  for  German 
schools  are.  Geography  :  Daniel  und  Guthe  ;  Arithmetic : 
Hartmann  und  Euhsam.) 

VI.  Geometry. 

The  study  of  the  compass-chart  is  followed  by  that  of  the 
circle.  The  lines  of  division  form  radii  and  diameters. 
The  deviation  of  the  magnetic  needle  leads  to  the  division 
of  the  circle  into  degrees,  and  this  to  the  measurement  oi 
angles  by  means  of  degrees.  'Then  follows  a  discussion  of 
the  ellipse  and  the  oval,  an!  a  comparison  of  these  with 


114         THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

the  circle.  Later  on  the  computation  of  the  circle  may  be 
taken  up  in  connection  with  some  concrete  problem,  such  as 
the  computation  of  a  circular  flower-bed. 

VII.  Drawing. 

Figures  (ornaments)  which  consist  of  circles,  ellipses, 
ovals  or  their  parts  are  studied. 

"Whether  the  forms  of  marine  animals  (shell-fish,  star- 
fish, etc.)  or  those  of  tropical  plants  would  furnish  suitable 
drawing  material  in  this  grade,  must  be  reserved  for  special 
investigation.  In  like  manner  it  is  yet  to  be  determined 
whether  the  development  of  art  might  not  furnish  useful 
material. 

B.     EPOCH  — THE   AGE    OF   THE   REFORMATION. 

I.  Culture  Material. 

The  central  material  for  this  (the  sixth  or  seventh) 
grade  consists  of  two  series,  the  one  religious,  the  other 
historical.  The  religious  has  for  its  subject  the  conclusion 
of  the  life  of  Christ  and  the  beginning  of  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles.  By  the  side  of  this  is  placed  the  history  of 
the  renewer  of  the  Christian  religion  and  the  story  of  the 
struggles  for  the  preservation  and  spread  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. The  various  points  of  contact  between  the  two  series 
are  too  manifest  to  require  a  detailed  elaboration.  In  the 
case  of  both  we  emphasize  the  purity  of  purpose.  The 
words  of  Peter,  Acts  iv.  20,  correspond  exactly  to  the  utter- 
ance of  Luther  before  the  Diet  of  Worms. 

(It  is  of  course  self-evident  that  the  treatment  of  such 
materials  in  an  American  public  school  is  out  of  the  ques- 
tion ;  yet  in  the  elaboration  of  these  themes  we  can  trace 
the  principles  which  it  is  desired  to  illustrate,  and  for  the 


SPECIAL   METHODS.  115 

application  of  which  we  must  endeavor  to  find  new  mate- 
rials, more  suited  to  our  needs  and  conditions.  I  shall 
therefore  give  only  a  brief  synopsis  of  such  portions  as  are 
of  less  importance  and  interest  to  us.  —  Tr.) 

In  connection  with  the  history  of  the  Reformation  the 
most  important  inventions  (printing,  gunpowder)  are  then 
discussed.  Ziller  would  append  the  discussion  of  these,  as 
well  as  of  the  voyages  of  discovery,  to  the  history  of  the  Kef- 
ormation,  as  an  answer  to  the  question :  How  was  such  a 
vigorous  mental  life  of  the  German  people  brought  about  ? 
But  we  regard  it  as  too  difficult  a  question  to  be  discussed 
profitably  by  children  of  this  grade.  The  invention  of 
printing  is  best  inserted  at  that  point  in  the  history  of  the 
Reformation  where  the  rapid  dissemination  of  the  theses 
of  Luther  comes  under  discussion.  Here  the  question  may 
be  asked:  How  was  such  a  rapid  distribution  possible  ?  In 
order  that  the  progress  of  the  story  may  not  be  interrupted 
too  long,  the  technical  part  of  printing  may  be  discussed  in 
the  natural-science  hour. 

The  invention  of  gunpowder  is  most  appropriately  dis- 
cussed immediately  before  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  because  the 
entire  mode  of  warfare  here  appears  different  from  that  pre- 
viously known.  Ancient  and  modern  times  come  into  contact 
in  tournaments,  where  bow  and  gun  are  in  use  side  by  side. 

In  order  to  know  the  state  of  culture  during  the  period  of 
the  Reformation,  and  the  misery  produced  by  the  Thirty 
Years'  War,  various  literary  works  bearing  on  this  period 
are  studied,  which  need  not  be  here  specified. 

II.  Language. 

To  the  precursors  of  the  Reformation  belong  two  of  the 
most  important  mediaeval  poets :  Walther  von  der  Vogelweide 
and  Wolfram  von  Eschenbach. 


116         THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

a.  AVOLFRAM    VON^    EsCIIEXBACH. 

1.  The  legend  of  Arthur. 

2.  The  legend  of  the  Holy  Grail. 

3.  Percival. 

b.  "Walther  vox  der  Vogelweide. — Various  poems. 
On  the  basis  of  these  an  answer  will  be  sought  to  the  ques- 
tion :  What  were  the  subjects  treated  by  the  Minnesing- 
ers? Court-life  is  discussed  in  connection  with  Goethe's 
poem, "  The  Harper."  Mediaeval  poetry  as  a  whole  is  studied 
from  the  standpoint  of  literature.  Within  this  period  the 
rise  of  lyric  song  also  occurs,  which  is  treated  according  to 
its  varying  character  as  folk-song,  war-song,  etc. 

In  connection  with  Luther's  translation  of  the  Bible  are 
discussed :  — 

1.  Luther's  influence  upon  the  German  language. 

2.  The  nature  of  Biblical  poetry. 

Materials  for  composition :  — 

1.  The  legend  of  the  Holy  Grail. 

2.  The  legend  of  Percival. 

3.  Luther's  youth. 

4.  Luther  at  the  AVartburg. 

5.  Luther's  services  to  the  German  people. 

6.  How  folk  songs  were  produced. 

7.  The  ]\[eistergesang  (Mastersong). 

8.  Soldier  life  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War. 

IIL    Geography. 

Astronomical  Geography  is  studied  in  connection  with 
the  history  of  the  Reformation.  Copernicus  (1473-1545), 
Galileo  (1564-1G42)  and  Newton  (1053-1727)  are   the  re- 


SPECIAL   METHODS.  117 

formers  of  astronomical  science,  and  are  of  importance  not 
only  to  tlie  history  of  astronomy,  but  also  to  the  history  of 
modern  thought  and  culture  as  a  whole.  Like  the  church 
reformers,  these  champions  of  the  new  world-view  had  to 
suffer  persecution,  and  that  not  from  the  Catholic  side  only 
(Melanchthon).  Thus  we  find  even  undesirable  points  of 
relation  between  the  central  material  and  geography.  But 
astronomical  geography  finds  support  at  this  point  from  yet 
another  side,  viz.,  from  the  history  of  the  voyages  of  discov- 
ery which  has  preceded.  At  that  time  the  chief  object  was 
the  discussion  of  the  discovered  countries  ;  now  follows 
astronomical  geography,  to  the  discussion  of  which  we  are 
urged  by  the  voyages  of  Columbus. 

The  material  separates  into  ten  unities  :  — 

1.  Globe  shape  of  the  earth. 

2.  Size  of  the  earth. 

3.  Motion  about  its  axis. 

4.  Latitude  and  longitude. 

5.  The  terrestrial  globe. 

6.  Planispheres. 

7.  The  earth's  motion  about  the  sun. 

8-9.  Eclipses  of  the  sun  and  moon ;  distance  and  true 
size  of  sun  and  moon. 

10.  The  calendar.  (According  to  Eein,  Pickel,  and 
Scheller  in  the  "  Seventh  School  Year,"  p.  73,  where  hints 
are  given  for  methodical  treatment.) 

Ziller  and  Just  demand  as  a  special  unity  in  connection 
with  the  history  of  the  Reformation :  The  places  in  which 
Luther  was  active.  In  connection  with  this  it  would  be 
proper  to  ask  the  question  :  What  was  the  appearance  of  a 
German  city  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation  ? 

Additional  geographical  unities  (in  the  Thirty  Years' 
War)  :  The  country  in  which  the  Thirty  Years'  War  began : 
Bohemia  and  Moravia.     The  country  from  which  the  Prot- 


118  THE  PEDAGOGY   OF   HERB ART. 

estants  first  received  help :  Denmark,  The  country  from 
which  the  savior  of  the  Reformation  came  :  Sweden  and 
Norway.  The  Polar  expeditions  (as  the  complements  of 
the  voyages  of  discoveries  in  a  geographical  sense). 

IV.   Nature  Study. 

(a)    With  astronomical  geography. 

1.  Gravitation. 

2.  Explanation  of  the  orbit  of  the  earth  (Centrip- 

etal and  Centrifugal  force). 

3.  How  do  we  know  that  the  earth  is  flattened  at 

the  poles  ?   (The  Pendulum.) 

4.  Clocks  (in    connection    with    the   measuring   of 

degrees  and  time  relations). 
6.    The  atmosphere  and  the  barometer  as  the  means  of 
measuring  altitude  and  humidity  (Mercury). 

6.  The  aqueous  phenomena   of   the   air  (the   three 

physical  forms.  Electricity  may  be  treated 
as  a  special  unity). 

7.  How  are  we  informed  as  to  the  condition  of  the 

sun?     (Analysis  of  light;  the  rainbow.) 

8.  Light  and  heat  (in  connection  with  the  question: 

How  is  it  that  it  is  always  cold  in  the  upper 
strata  of  air,  notwithstanding  the  sunshine  ?). 
(The  Thermometer.) 

9.  Lenses. 

(6)    With  physical  geography. 

10.  The  principal  facts  of  geology  (in  connection  with 

the  hot  springs  of  Bohemia  and  Iceland). 

11.  The  principal  industry  of  the  Bohemian  Forest 

(Glass  and  its  manufacture). 

12.  Northern  fauna  and   flora  (in  connection   with 

Scandinavia  and  the  Arctic  Ocean). 


SPECIAL   METHODS.  119 

(c)    With  inventions. 

13.  Gunpowder  and  its  composition  (expansion  of 

gases  ;  oxygen  and  combustion.) 
{d)    With  history. 

14.  Hydraulics. 

15.  The  fire-engine. 

(See  Geography :  the  appearance  of  a  German  city  at  the 
time  of  the  Keformatiou.) 

In  order  to  meet  possible  objections,  we  remark  here, 
that  the  several  groups  in  the  preceding  arrangement  are 
by  no  means  always  to  be  regarded  as  unities.  On  closer 
inspection  many  of  them  will  resolve  themselves  into  groups 
of  unities.  Then,  too,  it  must  not  be  overlooked  that 
several  unities  may  be  mutually  related.  The  attention 
must,  therefore,  be  directed  not  only  to  the  transverse  sec- 
tion of  the  course  of  study,  but  also  to  the  longitudinal 
section,  i.e.,  besides  the  proper  co-ordination  of  the  branches 
of  study,  the  proper  sequence  of  the  topics  within  each 
branch  is  to  be  carefully  provided  for,  lest  the  teaching 
of  natural  science  should  resolve  itself  into  a  number  of 
incoherent  observations.  We  have  not  aimed  to  give  the 
details  in  this  direction,  but  only  to  point  out  the  wealth 
of  material  in  natural  science,  and  to  give  hints  for  a 
proper  selection. 

V.   Singing. 

(The  songs  and  choruses  learned  during  this  year  are 
again  brought  into  intimate  relation  to  the  other  subjects 
of  study  by  selecting  them  from  authors  treating  this 
period ;  a  comparatively  easy  task  for  German  schools, 
which  have  such  a  wealth  of  material  to  select  from.  It 
is  the  constant  aim  to  go  to  the  original  sources,  and  to 
make  even  the  character  of  the  songs  sung  harmonize  with 
and  support  the  central  material.  — Tii.) 


120  THE   PEDAGOGY   OF   HERBART. 

VI.   Arithmetic. 

The  topics  considered  during  this  (sixth)  school  year  are 
multiplication  and  division  of  fractions,  and  their  combi- 
nation. The  material  is  taken  partly  from  the  thought 
material,  partly  from  social  life.  With  reference  to  the 
former  we  add  a  few  illustrations  :  — 

(a)    In  connection  with  Mathematical  Geography. 

It  is  to  be  computed  what  time  it  is  in  Cologne  when  the 
clock  in  the  tower  of  St.  aSTicholas  in  Altenburg  strikes  seven. 

Altenburg  is  situated  10  degrees  east  from  Paris  (24|-  de- 
grees east  of  Ferro).  Cologne  lies  4^  degrees  east  of  Paris 
(24i  degrees  east  of  Ferro).  Therefore  the  difference  of 
degrees  is  5^.  (Review  of  Subtraction.)  For  every  degree 
there  is  a  difference  of  4  minutes  of  time ;  consequently  it 
is  seven  o'clock  in  Cologne  5|-  x  4  =  22  minutes  later  than 
with  us. 

Conversely,  the  difference  of  degrees  can  be  computed 
from  the  difference  of  time.  In  the  larger  railway  stations 
west  and  east  of  Berlin  the  difference  of  time  between  that 
station  and  the  Imperial  capital  is  always  given. 

From  the  diameter  of  the  earth  its  circumference  can  be 
computed  by  multiplication;  from  the  circumference,  the 
diameter  by  division.  (The  computation  of  the  sphere  in 
general  should  be  borne  in  mind.) 

(6)    In  connection  with  Natural  Science. 

From  the  difference  of  barometric  indications  in  meas- 
uring altitudes,  the  altitude  of  certain  points  may  be  de- 
termined; conversely,  from  the  altitude,  the  barometric 
indication. 

The  average  thermometer  reading  for  a  day  or,  as  is  cus- 
tomary in  meteorology,  for  a  week  (or  a  month,  as  in 
the  United  States. —  Tk.),  is  determined  by  addition  and 
division. 


SPECIAL  METHODS.  121 

(c)    In  connection  with  History. 

Computation  of  an  army  corps  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War 
in  the  vicinity  of  Altenburg,  Germany.  (The  details  would 
not  interest  American  readers.  The  problem  involves  the 
elements  of  Percentage  also.  The  author  admits  that  the 
proper  selection  of  the  arithmetical  material  is  a  most 
difficult  problem,  — Tr.) 

VII.    Drawing. 

In  a  previous  grade,  in  connection  with  geometry,  the 
circle  and  those  lines  which  are  constructed  by  means  of 
the  circle  have  been  drawn.  These  lines  were  also  applied 
in  various  combinations.  Now  the  circular  line  appears  in 
connection  with  the  straight  line,  and  these  are  applied  in 
the  study  of  the  industrial  art  that  flourished  at  the  time 
of  the  Eeformation.  A  careful  selection  of  material  is  of 
course  needed  here. 

ILLUSTRATIVE   LESSON. 

TREATMENT   OF   THE    NUMBER   3. 
(By  Dk.  Kael  Just,  Altenburg.) 

Aim  — How  many  persons  were  in  the  home  of  the  little  girl  of 
Sternthal  (first  fairy  tale)  when  her  father  and  mother  were  yet  alive  ? 

Clearness  (Analysis  and  Synthesis  1).  —  There  was  first  her 
father  (1),  then  her  mother  (1  +  1),  and  then  the  good  little  girl 
(2  +  1).     Together  there  were  therefore  three  (3). 

But  now  her  father  died  (3  —  1),  and  there  were  left  mother  and 
daughter ;  then  her  mother  died  too  (2  —  1),  and  the  little  girl  was 
left  alone.  At  last  the  little  girl  went  away  (1  —  1),  and  there  was 
nobody  left  in  the  house. 

After  the  counting,  adding  and  subtracting  as  far  as  3  have  been 
practiced  by  means  of  members  of  the  family,  the  abacus  or  other 
objects,  there  follows :  — 


122         THE  PEDAGOGY  OF  HERBART. 

Association  1.  —  Associating  exercises  are  practiced  by  means  of 
sticks,  cubes  or  other  objects. 
Lay  1,  2,  3  sticks. 

From  3  sticks  take  away  1,  2,  3  sticks,  etc. 

Synthesis  2.  —  With  these  are  connected  exercises  in  Multiplication 
and  Division  (Partition).    Clap  your  hands  once,  twice,  three  times. 

1x1,  2x1,  3x1. 
Raise  your  arm  once,  twice,  three  times. 
Show  me  3  fingers,  2  fingers,  1  finger. 

1x3,   1x2,   1x1. 
Lay  3  pennies  in  3  heaps. 
Lay  3  pennies  in  2  heaps.     (1  remains.) 
Lay  3  pennies  in  1  heap. 

3  -f-  3,   3  --  2,   3-^1;    ^  of  3,   ^  of  3. 
Lay  2  pennies  in  2  heaps. 
Lay  2  pennies  in  1  heap. 

^  of  2,   2-2. 

Association  2.  —  Show  me  3  sticks. 

Show  me  2  sticks. 

Show  me  1  stick. 

Let  3  boys  come  forward  and  divide  these  3  chestnuts. 

System.  — These  resulting  series  are  now  systematically  arranged 

as  follows :  — 

12  8,    3  2  1,    1x1,    1x3,   3  --  3,    2  --  2,   1  -i- 1. 

1  +  1,  1  +  2,   2x1,    1x2,   3 --2,   2^1. 

2  +  1,  3x1,   1x1,    3--1. 

3  -  1,  1  -  1. 
2-2,  3-2. 
1-1. 

Method.  —  In  order  that  the  completed  series  which  have  been  pre- 
sented so  far  only  in  sequence  may  also  find  independent  application, 
especially  also  suited  to  the  social  relation  of  the  children,  the  follow- 
ing methodic  exercises  will  be  useful :  — 

Name  3  boys. 

Which  of  you  has  3  brothers  or  sisters  ?  Or  2  ?  Or  only  1  brother  ? 
1  sister? 

If  I  have  3  pennies  and  give  1  penny  to  a  poor  man  ? 


ILLUSTRATIVE  LESSONS.  123 

But  if  I  give  away  2  of  them  ?    Or  all  3  ? 
Name  for  me  what  you  have  2  times.     (2  eyes,  2  ears,  etc.) 
And  what  only  1  time  ? 

What  can  you  fmd  in  this  room  2  times  ?     (2  blackboards,  2  doors.) 
What  3  times  ?     (3  tables,  3  bookcases,  etc.) 
Only  1  time  ?     (1  stove,  1  desk,  etc.) 

When  mamma  has  2  pears  and  divides  them  among  3  children,  how 
much  does  each  get  ? 

Children  will  soon  easily  make  similar  illustrations,  and  thus  stim- 
ulate self-activity  immensely,  a  fact  which  is  of  the  utmost  importance 
in  education. 

Additional  oral  and  written  exercises  may  be  as  follows :  — 

How  many  must  we  put  with  2  to  make  it  3  ? 

How  many  must  we  take  from  3  to  make  it  1  ? 

Before  3  comes  ? 

After  1  comes  ? 

Show  me  the  first  button. 

Show  me  the  second  button. 

Show  me  the  third  button. 

3  =  1  +  1  +  1. 

3  =  2  +  1. 
How  often  is  1  contained  in  3  ? 
How  often  is  1  contained  in  2  ? 

1  of  2  ? 

I  of  3  ?    f  of  3  ? 

1+1+1-2? 

3x1-2?    3x1-1? 

3-=-3  +  2? 
During  intermission  or  at  the  time  for  rest  exercise  the  children 
may  learn  counting-out  rhymes,  which  assist  counting :  e.g. ,  — 
One,  two,  three,  the  bumble-bee, 
The  rooster  crows  and  out  goes  he. 


^ 


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Badlam'S  Number  Chart.  n  x  14  inches.  Designed  to  aid  in  teaching  the  four 
fundamental  rules  in  lowest  primary  grades.     5  els.  each;  per  hundred  ^(4.00. 

Luddington's  Picture  Problems.  70  cards,  3x5  inches,  in  colors,  to  teach  by  pic- 
tures combinations  from  one  to  ten.     65  cts. 

Pierce's  Review  Number  Cards.  Two  cards,  7x9,  for  rapid  work  for  second  and 
third  year  pupils.     3  cts.  each  ;  per  hundred  ;ji2.40. 

Rowland's  Drill  Card.  For  rapid  practice  work  in  middle  grades.  3  cts.  each ;  per 
hundred  $2.40. 

For  advanced  work  see  otir  list  of  books  in  Mathematics. 


D     C,    HEATH    &    CO.,  PUBLISHERS, 

BOSTON.        NEW  YORK.         CHICAGO. 


MA  THE  MA  TICS, 


Bowser's   Academic   Algebra.     A  complete  treatise  tlirough  the  progressions,  includ- 
ing Permutations,  Combinations,  and  the  Binomial  Theorem.     Half  leather.     If  1.25. 

Bowser's   College   Algebra,     a  complete   treatise  for  colleges  and  scientific   schools. 
Hal:  leather.     ^1.65. 

Bowser's   Plane  and  Solid  Geometry.     Combines   the   excellences   of    Euclid    with 
those  of  the  best  modern  writers.     Half  leather.     1^1.35. 

Bowser's  Plane  Geometry.    Half  leather.    85  cts. 

Bowser's  Elements  of  Plane  and  Spherical  Trigonometry      A  brief  course 

prepared  especially  for  High  Schools  and  Academies.     Half  leather,     f  i.oo. 

Bowser's  Treatise  on  Plane  and  Spherical  Trigonometry.     An  advanced 

work  which  covers  the  entire  course  in  higher  institutions.     Half  leather,     f  1.65. 

Hanus's  Geometry  in  the  Grammar  Schools.    An  essay,  together  with  illustrative 

class  exercises  and  an  outline  of  the  work  for  the  last  three  years  of  the  grammar  schooi. 
52  pages.     25  cts. 

Eopkin's  Plane  Geometry.     On  the  heuristic  plan.     Half  leather.     85  cts. 

Hunt's  Concrete  Geometry  for  Grammar  Schools.     The   definitions  and   ele- 

m.;ntary  concepts  are  to  be  taught  concretely,  by  much  measuring,  by  the  making  or 
models  and  diagrams  by  the  pupil,  as  suggested  by  the  text  or  by  his  own  invention. 
100  pages.     Boards.     30  cts. 

Waldo's  Descriptive  Geometry.     A    large    number    of    problems    systematically  ar- 
ranged and  with  suggestions.     90  cts. 

The   New  Arithmetic.     By  300  teachers.     Little  theory  and  much  practice.     Also   ai. 
excellent  review  book.     230  pages.     75  cts. 

I-'or  Arithmetics  and  other  elementary  'work  see  our  list  of  books  in  Nwnbei , 


D.    C.   HEATH    &    CO.,  PUBLISHERS, 

B03T0N.        NEW  YORK.        CHICAGO. 


ENGLISH  LANG  UA  GE. 


Hyde's  Lessons  in  English,  Book  I.  For  the  lower  grades.  Contains  exercises 
for  reproduction,  picture  lessons,  letter  writing,  uses  of  parts  of  speech,  etc.     40  cts. 

Hyde's  Lessons  in  English,  Book  IL  For  Grammar  schools.  Has  enough  tech- 
nical grammar  for  correct  use  of  language.     60  cts. 

Hyde's  Lessons  in  English,  Book  II  with  Supplement.     Has,  in  addition 

to  the  above,  iiS  pages  of  technical  grammar.     70  cts. 
Supplement  bound  alone,  35  cts. 

Hyde's  Advanced  Lessons  in  English.  For  advanced  classes  in  grammar  schools 
and  high  schools.     60  cts. 

Hyde's  Lessons  in  English,  Book  II  with  Advanced  Lessons.  The  Ad- 
vanced Lessons  and  Book  II  bound  together.    80  cts. 

Hyde's  Derivation  of  Words.     15  cts. 

Mathews's  Outline  of  English  Grammar,  with  Selections  for  Practice. 

The  application  of  principles  is  made  through  composition  of  original  sentences.     80  cts. 
Buckbee'S   Primary   Word   Book.      Embraces  thorough  drills  in  articulation  and  in 
the  primary  difficulties  of  spelling  and  sound.     30  cts. 

Sever'S  Progressive  Speller.  For  use  in  advanced  primary,  intermediate,  and  gram- 
mar grades.     Gives  spelling,  pronunciation,  definition,  and  use  of  words.    30  cts. 

Badlam's  Suggestive  Lessons  in  Language.     Being  Part  I  and  Appendix  of 

Suggestive  Lessons  in  Language  and  Reading.     50  cts. 

Smith's  Studies  in  Nature,  and  Language  Lessons.    A  combination  of  object 

lessons  with  language  work.     50  cts.     Part  I  bound  separately,  25  cts. 

MeiklejOhn'S  English  Language.  Treats  salient  features  with  a  master's  skill  and 
with  the  utmost  clearness  and  simplicity.     $1.30. 

Meiklejohn's  English  Grammar.  Also  composition,  versification,  paraphrasing,  etc. 
For  high  schools  and  colleges.     90  cts. 

Meiklejohn's  History  of  the  English  Language.  78  pages.  Part  11 1  of  Eng- 
lish Language  above,  35  cts. 

Williams's  Composition  and  Rhetoric  by  Practice.  For  high  school  and  col- 
lege. Combines  the  smallest  amount  of  theory  with  an  abundance  of  practice.  Revised 
edition,     fi.oo. 

Strang's  Exercises  in  English.  Examples  in  Syntax,  Accidence,  and  Style  for 
criticism  and  correction.     50  cts. 

Huffcutt'S  English  in  the  Preparatory  School.  Presents  as  practically  as  pos- 
sible some  of  the  advanced  methods  of  teaching  English  grammar  and  composition  in  th  -. 
secondary  schools.     25  cts. 

Woodward's  Study  of   English.     Discusses  English  teaching  from  primary  school  to 

high  collegiate  work.     25  cts. 

Genung's  Study  of   Rhetoric.      Shows  the  most  practical  discipline  of  students  for  the 

making  of  literature.     25  cts. 

GoOdchild'S  Book  of    Stops.     Punctuation  in  Verse.     Illustrated.     10  cts. 
See  also  our  list  of  books  for  the  study  of  English  Literature, 


D.    C.    HEATH    &    CO.,    PUBLISHERS, 

BOSTON.        NEW  YORK.        CHICAGO. 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 

Hawthorne  and  Lemmon's  American  Literature.    A  manual  for  high  schools 

and  academies.     #1.25. 

Meiklejohn's  History  of  English  Language  and  Literature.    For  high  schools 

and  colleges.     A  compact   and  reliable  statement   of   the    essentials  ;  also   included  in 
,  Meiklejohn's  English  Language  (see  under  English  Language),     go  cts. 

Meiklejohn's  History  of  English  Literature.     ii6  pages.     Part  iv  of  English 

Literature,  above.     45  cts. 

Hodgkins'  Studies  in  English  Literature.     Gives  full  lists  of  aids  for  laboratory 

method  Scott,  Lamb,  Wordsworth,  Coleridge,  Byron,  Shelley,  Keats,  Macauiay. 
Dickens,  Thackeray,  Robert  Browning,  Mrs.  Browning,  Carlyle,  Geori;e  Eliot,  Tenny- 
son, Rossetti,  Arnold,  Ru?kin,-  Irving,  Bryant,  Hawthorne,  Longfellow,  Emerson, 
Whittier,  Holmes,  and  Lowell.  A  separate  pamphlet  on  each  author.  Price  5  cts.  each, 
or  per  hundred,  $-i.oo  ;  complete  in  cloth  (adjustable  file  cover,  $1 .50).     $1.00. 

Scudder's  Shelley's  Prometheus  Unbound,     with  introduction  and  copious 

notes.     70  cts. 

George's  Wordsworth's  Prelude.      Annotated  for   high  school  and  college.     Never 
before  published  alone.     So  cts. 

George's  Selections  from  Wordsworth.    i68  poems  chosen  with  a  view  to  illustrate 

the  growth  of  the  poet's  mind  and  art.     $1.00. 

George's  Wordsworth's  Prefaces  and  Essays  on  Poetry.     Contains  the  best  of 

Wordsworth's  prose.     60  cts. 
George's  Webster's  Speeches.      Nine  select  speeches  with  notes.     $1.50. 

George's  Burke's  American  Orations.     Cloth.    65  cts. 

George's  Syllabus  of  English  Literature  and  History.     Shows  in  parallel 

columns,  the  progress  of  History  and  Literature.     20  cts. 

Corson's  Introduction  to  Browning.      A  guide  to  the  study  of  Browning's  Poetry. 

Also  has  33  poems  with  notes.     $1.50. 

Corson's  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Shakespeare.    A  critical  study  of 

Shakespeare's  art,  with  examination  questions.     ^1.50. 

Corson's  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Milton,    in  press. 
Corson's  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Chaucer,     in  press. 

Cook's  Judith.      The  Old  English  epic  poem,  with  introduction,  translation,  glossary  and 
fac-simile  page.     J1.60.     Students'  edition  without  translation.     35  cts. 

Cook's  The  Bible  and  English  Prose  Style.  Approaches  the  study  of  the  Bible 

from  the  literary  side.     60  cts. 

Simonds'  Sir  Thomas  Wyatt  and  his  Poems.     i6S  pages.    With  biography,  and 

critical  analysis  of  his  poems.     75  cts. 

Hall's  Beowulf.      A  metrical  translation,     ^i.oo.     Students'  edition.     35  cts. 

Norton's  Heart  of  Oak  Books.      A  series  of  five  volumes  giving  selections  from  the 
choicest  English  literature. 

Phillips's  History  and  Literature  in  Grammar  Grades.    An  essay  showing  the 

intimate  relation  of  the  two  subjects.     15  cts. 

See  also  our  list  0/  books  for  tJte  study  o/the  English  Language. 


D.  C.  HEATH  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS. 

BOSTON.        NEW  YORK.         CHICAGO. 


HISTORY, 


Sheldon's  United  States  History.  For  grammar  schools.  Follows  the  "seminary' 
or  laboratory  plan.  "  By  it  the  child  is  not  robbed  of  the  right  to  do  his  own  think- 
ing."    Half  leather.     $1.25. 

Teacher's  Manual  to  Sheldon's  United  States  History.   A  key  to  the  above 

system.     60  cts. 

Sheldon's  General  History.  For  high  school  and  college.  The  only  general  history 
following  the  "seminary"  or  laboratory  plan  now  advocated  by  leading  teachers. 
Half  leather.     $1.75. 

Sheldon's  Greek  and  Roman  History.  Contains  the  first  250  pages  of  the  above 
book.     Ji.oo. 

Teacher's  Manual  to  Sheldon's  History.  Puts  into  the  instructor's  hand  the  key 
to  the  above  system.     85  cts. 

Sheldon's  Aids  to  the  Teaching  of  General  History.    Gives  also  list  of  most 

essential  books  for  a  reference  library.     10  cts. 

Thomas's  History  of  the  United  States.  For  schools,  academies,  and  the  general 
reader.  A  narrative  history  with  copious  references  to  sources  and  authorities.  Fully 
illustrated.     532  pages.     Half  leather.     ^1.25. 

Shumway'S  A  Day  in  Ancient  Rome.  With  sq  illustrations.  Should  find  a  place 
as  a  suppleinentary  reader  in  every  high-school  class  studying  Cicero,  Horace,  Taci- 
tus, etc.    75  cts. 

Old  South  Leaflets.  Reproductions  of  important  political  and  historical  papers,  ac- 
companied by  useful  notes.  Each,  5  cts.  and  6  cts.  For  titles  see  separate  lists.  Per 
hundred,  ^3,00. 

Allen's  History  Topics.  Covers  Ancient,  Modem,  and  American  history,  and  gives  an 
excellent  list  of  books  of  reference.     121  pages.     Paper,    30  cts. 

Fisher's  Select  Bibliography  of  Ecclesiastical  History.    An  annotated  list  of 

the  most  essential  books  for  a  theological  student's  library.     15  cts. 

Hall's  Method  of  Teaching  History.  "its  excellence  and  helpfulness  ought  to 
secure  it  many  readers." — The  Nation.     ;jii.5o. 

Phillips'  History  and  Literature  in  Grammar  Grades,    a  paper  read  before  the 

Department  of  Superintendence,  at  Brooklyn,  N.Y.     Paper.     15  cts. 


See  also  our  list  of  Old  South  Leaflets. 


D.   C.   HEATH    &   CO.,  PUBLISHERS, 

BOSTON.        NEW  YORK.        CHICAGO. 


Civics,  Economics,  and  Sociology, 


Boutwell's  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  at  the  End  of  the  First 

Century.  Contains  the  Organic  Laws  of  the  United  States,  with  references  to  the 
decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  which  elucidate  the  text,  and  an  historical  chapter  re- 
viewing the  steps  which  led  to  the  adoption  of  these  Organic  Laws.    In  press. 

Dole's  The  American  Citizen.  Designed  as  a  text-book  in  Civics  and  morals  for  the 
higher  grades  of  llie  grammar  school  as  well  as  for  the  high  school  and  academy.  Con- 
tains Constitution  of  United  States,  with  analysis.     336  pages.     $1.00. 

Special  editions  are  made  for  Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio,  Missouri,  Nebraska,  No.  Dakota, 
So.  Dakota,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Kansas,  Texas. 

Goodale's  Questions  to  Accompany  Dole's  The  American  Citizen.     Con- 

tains,  beside  questions  on  the  text,  suggestive  questions  and  questions  for  class  debate. 
87  pages.     Paper.     25  cts. 

Gide'S  Principles  of  Political  Economy.  Translated  from  the  French  by  Dr. 
Jacobsen  of  London,  with  introduction  by  Prof.  James  Bonar  of  Oxford.  598 
pages.     $2.00. 

Henderson's  Introduction   to   the  Study  of   Dependent,  Defective,  and 

Delinquent  Classes.  Adapted  for  use  as  a  text-book,  for  personal  study,  for 
teachers'  and  ministers'  institutes,  and  for  clubs  of  public-spirited  men  and  women  engaged 
in  considering  some  of  the  gravest  problems  of  society.     287  pages.     $1.50. 

Hodgin'S  Indiana  and  the  Nation.  Contains  the  Civil  Government  of  the  State, 
as  well  as  that  of  the  United  States,  with  questions.     198  pages.     70  cts. 

Lawrence's  Guide  to  International  Law.    A  brief  outline  of  the  principles  and 

practices  of  International  Law.     In  press. 

Wenzel's  Comparative  View  of  Governments.  Gives  in  parallel  columns  com- 
parisons of  the  governments  of  the  United  States,  England,  France,  and  Germany.  26 
pages.     Paper.     22  cts. 

Wilson's  The  State.  Elements  of  Historical  and  Practical  Politics.  A  text-book  on 
the  organization  and  functions  of  government  for  high  schools  and  colleges.  720  pages. 
$2.00. 

Wilson's  United  States  Government.  For  grammar  and  high  schools.  140  pages. 
60  cts. 

Woodburn  and  Hodgin's  The  American  Commonwealth.     Contains  several 

orations  from  Webster  and  Burke,  with  analyses,  historical  and  explanatory  notes,  and 
studies  of  the  men  and  periods.     586  pages.     $1.50. 

Sent  by  mail,  post  paid  on  receipt  of  prices.  See  also  our  list  of  books  in  History. 

D.    C.    HEATH    &    CO.,    PUBLISHERS, 

BOSTON.        NEW  YORK.        CHICAGO. 


GEOGRAPHY  AND  MAPS, 


Heath's  Practical  School  Maps.  Each  30  x  40  inches.  Printed  from  new  plates 
:nd  showing  latest  political  changes.  The  common  school  set  consists  ot  HeniispUcrts, 
No.  America,  So.  America,  Europe,  Africa,  Asia,  United  States.  Eyeletted  for  hanizing 
on  wall,  singly,  $1.25  ;  per  set  of  seven,  $7.00.  Mounted  on  cloth  and  rollers.  Singly, 
J2.00.  Mounted  on  cloth  per  set  of  seven,  %\.i  00.  Sunday  School  set.  Canaan  and 
Palestine.     Singly,  ^1.25 ;  per  set  of  two,  J2.00.     Mounted,  #2.00  each. 

Heath's  Outline  Map  of  the  United  States.  Invaluable  for  marking  territori-u 
growth  and  for  the  graphic  representation  of  all  geographical  and  historical  matter.  Small 
(desk)  size,  2  cents  each;  fi.50  per  hundred.  Intermediate  size,  30  cents  each.  Large 
size,  50  cts. 

Historical  Outline  Map  of  Europe.  12  x  18  inches,  on  bond  paper,  in  black  outline. 
3  cants  each;  per  hundred,  ^2.25. 

Jackson's  Astronomical  Geography.  Simple  enough  for  grammar  schools.  Used 
for  a  brief  course  in  high  school.     40  cts. 

Map  of  Ancient  History.  Outline  for  recording  historical  growth  and  statistics  (14  x 
17  in.),  3  cents  eacli ;  per  100,  52-25. 

Nichols'  Topics  in  Geography.     A  guide  for  pupils'  use  from  the  primary  through 

the  eighth  grade.     65  cis. 

Picturesque  Geography.       i?  lithograph  plates,  15  x  20  inches,  and  pamphlet  describing 

their  use.     Per  set,  ^3,00;  mounted,  ,''5.00. 

Progressive  Outline  Maps  :  United  States,  *World  on  Mercator's  Projection  (12  x 
20  in.) ;  Nonh  America,  South  America,  Europe,  *Central  and  Western  Europe,  Africa, 
Asia,  Austraha,  *Briti-.h  Isles,  *England,  *Greece,  *ltaly.  New  England,  Middle  Atlan- 
tic .States,  Southern  .States,  Southern  States  —  western  section.  Central  Eastern  States, 
Central  Western  States.  Pacific  States,  Nrw  York,  Oliio,  The  Great  Lakes,  Washington 
(State),  *Pale6tine  (each  10  x  12  in.).  For  the  graphic  representation  by  the  pupil  of 
geography,  geology,  history,  meteorology,  economics,  and  statistics  of  all  kinds.  2  cents 
each;  per  hundred,  $1.50. 
Those  marked  with  Star  (*)  are  also  printed  in  black  outline  for  use  in  teaching  history. 

Red  way's  Manual  of  Geography.  I.  Hints  to  Teachers;  II.  Modem  Facts  and 
Ancient  Fancies.     65  cts. 

Redway's  Reproduction  of  Geographical  Forms.    I.  Sand  and  Clay-Modelling; 

II.  Map  Drawing  and  Projection.     Paper.     30  cts. 

Roney's  Student's  Outline  Map  of  England.     For   use  in   English    History   and 

Literature,  to  be  filled  in  by  pupils.     5  cts. 

Trotter's  Lessons  in  the  New  Geography.    Treats  geography  from  the  human 

point  of  view.     Adapted  for  use  as  a  text-book  or  as  a  reader,  ^i.oo. 


D.   C.    HEATH    &    CO.,   PUBLISHERS, 

BOSTON.        NEW  YORK.        CHICAGO. 


Education. 


Compayr^'s  History  of  Pedagogy.  "  The  best  and  most  comprehensive  history  of 
Education  ill  Euylijh."  —  Dr.  G.  S.  Hall.     ?i.75. 

Compayr^'S  Lectures  on  Teaching.  "The  best  book  in  existence  on  the  theory  and 
I'ractice  of  education."  —  Supt.  MacAlister,  Philadelphia.     S'^ZS- 

Compayr^'s  Psychology  Applied  to  Education.     A  clear  and  concise  statement 

of  doctrine  and  application  on  the  science  and  art  of  teaching,     90  cts. 

De  GarmO's  Essentials  of  Method.  A  practical  exposition  of  methods  with  illustra- 
tive outlines  of  common  school  studies.     65  cts. 

De   Garmo's    Lindner's    Psychology.      The   best   Manual  ever  prepared  from   the 

Herbartian  standpoint.     Ji.oo. 

Gill's  Systems  of  Education.  "  it  treats  ably  of  the  Lancaster  and  Bell  movement 
in  education,  —  a  very  important  phase."  —  Dr.  \V.  T.  Harris.     J1.25. 

Hall's  Bibliography  of  Pedagogical  Literature.     Covers  every  department  of 

education.     Interleaved,  *$2.oo.     1^1.50. 
Herford's  Student's  Froebel.      The  purpose  of  this  little  book  is  to  give  young  people 
preparing  to  teach  a  brief  ytt  full  account  of  Froebel's  Theory  of  Education.     75  cts. 

Malleson's  Early  Training  of  Children.     "The  best  book  for  mothers  I  ever 

read."  —  Eliz.\ueth  P.  Pkabody.     75  cts. 

Marwedel's  Conscious  Motherhood.    The  unfolding  of  the  child's  mind  in  the 

cradle,  nursery  and  Kindergarten,     f  2.00. 
Newsholme'S  School  Hygiene.      Already  in  use  in  the  leading  training  colleges  in 
England.     75  cts 

Peabody's  Home,  Kindergarten,  and  Primary  School.  "The  best  book  out- 
side of  the  Dible  that  I  ever  read."  —A  Le.\oinl;  Teacher.     Ji.oo. 

PestalOZZi's  Leonard  and  Gertrude,  "if  we  except  'Emile'  only,  no  more  im- 
portant edi:calional  book  has  appeared  for  a  century  and  a  half  than  '  Leonard  and  Ger- 
trude.'"—  TJie  Nation,     ^o  cts. 

RadestOCk'S  Habit  in  Education.  "  it  will  prove  a  rare  'find'  to  teachers  who  are 
seeking  to  ground  themseKes  in  the  philosophy  of  their  art."  —  E.  H.  Russell,  Worces- 
ter Normal  School.     75  cts. 

Richter's  Levana  ;  or,  The  Doctrine  of  Education.     "A  spirited  and  scholarly 

book."  — Prof.  VV.  H.  Payne.     111.40. 
Rosmini'S   Method   in  Education.     "The   most  important   pedagogical  work   ever 
written."  —  Thomas  Davidson.     I^i.so. 

Rousseau's  Emile.  "  Perhaps  the  most  influential  book  ever  written  on  the  subject  of 
Education." — R.  H.  Quick.     90  cts. 

Methods  of  Teaching  Modern  Languages.     Papers  on  the  value  and  on  methods 

of  teaching  German  and  French,  hy  prominent  instructors.     90  cts. 

Sanford'a  Laboratory  Course  in  Physiological  Psychology.      The  course 

includes  experiments  upon  the  Dermal   Senses,  Static  and  Kinxsthetic  Senses,  Taste, 
Smell,  Hearing,  Vision,  Psychophysic.     In  Press. 

Lange's  Apperception :  A  monograph  on  Psychology  and  Pedagogy.  Trans- 
lated by  the  members  of  the  Herbart  Club,  under  the  direction  of  President  Charles 
DeOarmo,  of  Swarthmore  College,     f  i.oo. 

Herbart'S  Science  of  Education.  Translated  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Felken  with  a  pref- 
ace by  Oscar  Browning.     $1.00. 

Tracy's   Psychology    of   Childhood.     This  is  the  first  ^^«<rr3/ treatise  covering  in  a 
scientific  manner  the  whole  fijld  of  child  psychology.     Octavo.     Paper.     75  cts. 
Sent  by  mail,  postpaid,  on  receipt  of  price. 

D.    C.    HEATH    &    CO.,    PUBLISHERS, 

BOSTON.        NEW  YORK.         CHICAGO. 


UCLA-Young  Research   Library 

LB648   .U23 


L  009  610  705  7 


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